Republicans won’t budge as Biden details Supreme Court reform plan

WASHINGTON (CN) — As President Joe Biden laid out his plan of action Monday for addressing ethical malfeasance at the Supreme Court, Republican leadership on Capitol Hill vowed court reform legislation would never see the light of day.

After weeks of signaling it would weigh in on the ongoing debate over Supreme Court ethics, the Biden administration rolled out a three-point plan that it said would help restore confidence in the court and its justices. The announcement came on the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

While commemorating that date at the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library in Texas, Biden argued Monday that the Supreme Court has handed down extreme rulings over the last decade or so that have pared away at civil rights in the U.S. He pointed to the high court’s 2013 decision gutting the Civil Rights Act and its 2022 ruling striking down the constitutional right to abortion.

Biden also slammed the Supreme Court’s ruling last month granting former President Donald Trump some immunity for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“This decision is a total affront to the basic expectations that we have of those who wield power in this nation,” Biden said, "that they are expected to be wholly accountable to the law.”

He also cited months of reports that Supreme Court justices including Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito had neglected to disclose gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors, tying that malfeasance to what he called “shadow special interests” hoping to influence the high court.

The White House said Monday that it would support efforts to force the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of conduct and to implement 18-year term limits for justices. Biden also called for a constitutional amendment that would block presidents from claiming immunity over crimes committed in office — a check on the high court’s recent ruling on the subject.

The president argued in Texas that these were “common sense” reforms.

“The Supreme Court’s current ethics code is weak, and even more frightening — voluntary,” said Biden. “Any code of conduct must be enforceable. We need a mandatory code of ethics for the Supreme Court and we need it now.”

In Congress, Democrats who have long pushed for court reform were jubilant to have the president’s support.

“I thank President Biden for highlighting the Supreme Court’s ethical crisis,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, adding that lawmakers should continue pushing to pass court reform legislation.

“If Chief Justice Roberts won’t use his existing authority to implement reform, Congress should use its established Constitutional authority to require the Court to implement ethics reforms consistent with every other federal court,” Durbin wrote in a statement.

“Bravo,” Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told Biden in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Whitehouse is the sponsor of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, which would mandate the court develop a formal code of conduct in the public eye.

Whitehouse has said Democrats plan to bring his bill back up for a vote after Republicans blocked a request earlier this year to pass the measure using a Senate procedural mechanism known as unanimous consent.

Republicans, meanwhile, were less than enthused with the White House’s interest in reforming the Supreme Court, arguing that Biden and Democrats sought revenge for the justices’ recent string of rulings.

“Liberals are furious that [the Supreme Court] is abiding by the Constitution,” said Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, branding court reform efforts as “a toxic power grab” chipping away at the constitutional separation of powers.

“Nobody likes a sore loser,” Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy said. “You can’t overthrow the U.S. Constitution because you don’t like the results.”

And House Speaker Mike Johnson said that any legislation aimed at clamping down on the Supreme Court would be “dead on arrival” in the Republican-controlled House. “President Biden’s proposal to radically overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American people’s faith in our system of justice,” he said.

Reporters greeting Biden in Texas Monday asked him about Johnson’s statement.

“He’s dead on arrival,” the president quipped about the House speaker, adding that Democrats would “figure a way” to make proposed Supreme Court reform law.

Follow @BenjaminSWeiss

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