Biden proposes term limits for justices

By Kevin J. McMahon, Trinity College President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and his Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris just before the investiture ceremony for Jackson on September 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images To emphasize the importance of an election, presidential candidates often predict that the next president will have an opportunity to fill one or two vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court. But in the case of a hypothetical President Kamala Harris, this may not be true. Even if Harris were to win in November 2024, and then win reelection in 2028, she may not have a chance to reshape the court by filling the seat of a departing justice, especially a conservative one. Jimmy Carter was the only one-term president who didn’t fill a Supreme Court vacancy. No president who won reelection has been denied this opportunity. In contrast, President Donald Trump was able to appoint three justices in a single term. This inconsistency is one of the reasons why President Joe Biden’s call for Supreme Court reform, which Vice President Harris supports, should be considered a meaningful attempt to address a relatively new...