Four ways Democrats have demanded Biden reshape the Supreme Court

Democrats have been increasingly critical of the Supreme Court under its Republican-appointed majority, calling for significant reforms to the high court.

President Joe Biden heeded calls from Democrats and proposed reforms to the Supreme Court on Monday, although they appear highly unlikely to succeed. Biden’s proposals are all versions of things Democrats have been agitating for in recent years, though he shied away from some of the most extreme requests.

Here are four of the ways Democrats have wanted Biden to reform the Supreme Court, in reaction to a bevy of decisions the Democratic Party disagrees with.

Term limits

One of the proposals Biden suggested on Monday was term limits of 18 years for each justice. Under the current guidelines, Supreme Court justices are given lifetime terms.

Biden argued in an opinion piece for the Washington Post on Monday that the proposed term limits would “help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity” and would “reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come.”

House Democrats previously proposed a bill to impose 18-year term limits. The TERM Act was introduced in August 2022 and reintroduced in September 2023. The bill was introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and has been co-sponsored by 37 other House Democrats.

Revamped ethics code

A major push by Democrats has been for the Supreme Court to adopt a revamped ethics code after controversy over several justices’ undisclosed gifts that were reported on recently.

Biden proposed such a change in his opinion piece, saying they “should be required to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.”

Senate Democrats attempted to push through their own bill establishing a strict ethics code for the Supreme Court, but it failed to pass in the chamber. Republicans and others have taken issue with the attempt to push such a code on the Supreme Court, citing separation of powers.

Pack the court

One of the proposals Democrats have called for in the past but that Biden did not push for in his reform plan is adding justices to “pack” the court.

The Supreme Court’s composition has not changed since 1869, when it was put at the current nine justices, but under the Constitution, there is not a set number of justices, meaning the number can be changed through a simple act of Congress.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Johnson introduced a bill to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court to 13, arguing it would put it in line with the number of circuit courts of appeals in the country. The pair, along with other Democrats, have been periodically calling for the bill to be passed since introducing it in 2021.

Biden’s commission on the Supreme Court, which he ordered to make a report for him in 2021, took no position on expanding the court and noted there was “profound disagreement among Commissioners” in its report.

Disempower the court

One of the lesser-discussed proposals is to disempower or disregard the high court’s rulings.

In light of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision declaring affirmative action unconstitutional, one Harvard Law School professor urged Biden to ignore the high court’s decision, while some Democratic officials have decried the Supreme Court as being “illegitimate.”

Disempowering the court was another reform that Biden’s commission on the Supreme Court explored in 2021. The commission concluded that such reforms would likely need significant amendments to the Constitution and took no position on the merits of such proposals.

Biden’s Supreme Court reforms proposed on Monday also included reversing the high court’s recent decision on presidential immunity. Under Biden’s proposed constitutional amendment, a president would not be immune from any crimes.

The Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this month found that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts but are not immune from prosecution for unofficial acts while in the White House.