Biden calls for term limits, enforceable ethics rules for Supreme Court justices

President Biden warned Monday that “extremism is undermining public confidence in the court’s decisions” as he called for term limits and an enforceable ethics code for Supreme Court justices in what would be sweeping changes to the high court and the way it operates.

Speaking at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, Biden said the Supreme Court previously defended civil rights aggressively, “but now we live in a different era.

“In recent years, extreme opinions the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined long established civil rights principles and protections,” he said.

The White House said earlier Monday that under the proposal the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service of the Supreme Court.

Additionally, Biden called on Congress to pass binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require justices on the high court to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.

"We need a mandatory code of ethics for the Supreme Court and we need it now," he said.

Biden also called for a constitutional amendment that would limit the broad immunity presidents now enjoy following a recent Supreme Court decision.

"This nation was founded on the principle there are no kings in America," Biden said. "Each of us is equal before the law. No one is above the law. For all practical purposes, the court's decision almost certainly means that the president can violate their oath, flout our laws and face no consequences."

Justices to the high court enjoy a lifetime appointment and can decide on their own whether to adhere to the court’s newly adopted ethics rules. Scrutiny of the court has heightened amid scandals involving Justice Clarence Thomas, who took free trips and received gifts from a conservative mega donor, and Justice Samuel Alito, whose wife flew two flags associated with the far-right movement loyal to former President Donald Trump.

Biden railed against "undisclosed gifts to justices worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and wealthy benefactors who have interests before the very court are contributing to, [and] conflicts of interest from those connected to Jan. 6 insurrection."

The proposals are a long shot because a constitutional amendment or congressional action — two routes that would likely be needed — are next to impossible in the current political climate. But the plans themselves mark a sea change for Biden who had previously resisted any changes to the court. Although it is unclear if Biden can make headway on the issue in his remaining months in office, the White House believes the issue of Supreme Court reform polls well among independent voters, Republican voters, and a large swath of important demographic groups.

In 2021, soon after he was inaugurated, Biden set up a presidential commission on the Supreme Court, keeping a campaign promise he made when repeatedly pressed on whether he would expand the Supreme Court to pack it with justices more aligned with his worldview. Candidate Biden said he opposed expanding the court but said he favored the kind of bipartisan commission that the White House set up.

In December of that year, the panel – comprising legal éminence grise – issued a report that said Congress has the power to enlarge the court, but the panel took no position on doing so. On term limits, it appeared to suggest that a constitutional amendment was likely necessary, and pointed to the practical difficulties of implementing term limits at the same time that there are sitting justices with life terms on the court.