Biden’s Supreme Court reform plan appears to be at a standstill

President Joe Biden’s plan to implement legislative reform to the Supreme Court doesn’t appear to be making any ground.

During Wednesday’s White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if Biden was still committed to making sweeping changes to the Supreme Court, such as term limits, an enforceable ethics code, and a constitutional amendment that would eliminate presidential immunity.

“The president believes that when you hold a high office, you should be held by a certain ethics and transparency,” Jean-Pierre said. “That’s something that the president believes, and so he certainly will do everything that he can. I don’t have any policy announcements to make at this moment.”

Democrats have called for an ethics code in the wake of controversy surrounding Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Thomas has been criticized for accepting luxurious “gifts” from wealthy donors without disclosing them. He has maintained that he was not required to do so.

Democrats have called on Alito to recuse himself from a Jan. 6-related case after a flag associated with those who stormed the Capitol was seen flying outside of one of his residencies. Alito said that was all his wife’s doing, and neither he nor Thomas has suggested they will step down.

Implementing term limits has been a major talking point for Democrats. Last year, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill that would implement 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices.

However, even before Biden made his announcement that he was ending his presidential bid, the chances of him passing legislation in the coming months were very slim considering that Republicans hold a majority in the House.

“The president has gotten a lot done, historic pieces of legislation passed,” Jean-Pierre said. “That wasn’t done with an easy political climate. We’re going have more to share what the next several months of his term is going to look like.”