Joe Biden’s New Supreme Court Plan Is Backed by Republicans

President Joe Biden’s new plan for the US Supreme Court is supported by a majority of Republicans, according to polls.

Biden is set to back several measures to overhaul the Supreme Court amid Democratic outrage over recent rulings and several ethics scandals, according to reports from Washington Post quoting “two people who briefed me on the plan.” The report stressed that they would approve a viable code of conduct that would apply to the courts, as well as term limits for judges.

Term limits for Supreme Court justices are supported by most Americans, including majorities of voters from both major political parties, polls show. Currently, Supreme Court appointments are for life or until the judge chooses to retire.

A Hart Research survey conducted earlier this year found that 64 percent of voters support term limits for Supreme Court justices. That number is 78 percent among Democrats, 59 percent among independents and 51 percent among Republicans.

The poll was conducted among 1,202 registered voters from March 20 to March 24, 2024, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Elsewhere, 2022 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found broad support for term limits. According to the survey, 67 percent of Americans would support term limits. That includes 82 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Republicans.

The poll surveyed 1,085 US adults from July 14 to July 17, 2022. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Biden’s plan did not go as far as some Democrats had hoped, as he did not expect to change his position on the court. Some more progressive Democrats have urged him to add more than nine justices to the court to counter his strong conservative majority, but he has yet to accept that call. Some have warned that if Biden is going to pack the court, the next Republican president will do the same.

Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign for comment via email.

Legal analyst Elie Mystal responded to reports of Biden’s plans on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I know term limits and ethics sound ‘less radical’ to many people than judicial expansion. However, as I keep trying to tell you all, the Supreme Court will decide that term limits and ethics are constitutional. And if you don’t expand the courts, This other plan will fail,” Mystal posted.

Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor of constitutional law at Georgia State University College of Law, wrote, “I think Supreme Court term limits can be set by statute. However, I’m not sure the Court will just say, ‘yeah that’s fine.’ Another (and additional) route that Congress could take is to make a very favorable retirement provision dependent on immediate retirement after 18 years.

A group of Democratic senators has introduced a bill that would establish term limits for judges. The bill requires a new justice to take the bench every two years and spend 18 years participating in the case. After that 18-year term, the justices will be limited to “hearing a limited number of constitutionally required cases.”

It’s unclear whether there will be support for the Supreme Court’s term limits in Congress, despite widespread support among voters of all political perspectives.

Biden’s support for SCOTUS term limits comes as the justices face heightened scrutiny from Democrats over recent rulings and ethics scandals.

The court sparked outrage from Democrats and legal analysts in early July after ruling that the president has full immunity from official action in former President Donald Trump’s federal election meddling case.

Meanwhile, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas faced criticism for not recusing themselves from the case because of their ties to Republicans.

Alito faced a recusal call afterward The New York Times reported that an upside-down American flag, a pro-Trump symbol, was flown outside the home, though she said her husband only flew it as part of a spat with a neighbor.

Thomas faced denial calls because his wife Ginni Thomas allegedly supported efforts to block President Biden’s Electoral College victory. He has faced more scrutiny for accepting an undisclosed gift from GOP billionaire Harlan Crow, but said he followed reporting guidelines at the time, so he did nothing wrong.