Biden slams “extreme” U.S. Supreme Court, offers proposal for sweeping changes

(The Texas Tribune) – President Joe Biden on Monday called the U.S. Supreme Court “extreme” as he detailed his proposal for sweeping changes, including limiting justices to 18-year terms, during a speech to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin. Biden unveiled his plan for Supreme Court reform, which also included an enforceable ethics code for the nine justices, in an op-ed in The Washington Post on Monday. He also called on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity. “This nation is founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” he said. “No one is above the law.” Related Stories Biden’s plan would give sitting presidents the power to appoint a Supreme Court justice every two years. Those justices would have 18-year terms, instead of lifetime appointments, and be subject to an ethics code that would require them to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have conflicts of interest, a nod to controversies this year surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas, his wife Ginny Thomas, and their proximity to conservative activists and donors. Biden...