Biden calls for supreme court reforms including 18-year justice term limits

Joe Biden unveiled a much-anticipated series of sweeping changes to the US supreme court, including the introduction of term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.

The reforms are unlikely to win approval in the narrowly divided Congress. With fewer than 100 days until the November election, Democrats are hoping to harness outrage among the public about the supreme court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, handing down decisions in recent that eliminated constitutional right to an abortion and greatly reduced the power of executive agencies.

Public confidence in the court has slipped to historic lows in recent years. According to a 2023 Gallup survey, nearly six in 10 Americans disapproved of the way the supreme court was handling its job.

The president also called for stricter, enforceable rules on conduct which would require justices to disclose gifts, refrain from political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial interest.

Last week Justice Elena Kagan called for the court to strengthen the ethics code it introduced in 2023 by adding a way to enforce it. That code was introduced after a spate of scandals involving rightwing justices on the court: Clarence Thomas was found to have accepted vacations and travel from a Republican mega-donor, while Samuel Alito flew on a private jet owned by an influential billionaire on the way to a fishing trip.

A constitutional amendment on presidential immunity is even more aspirational, requiring two-thirds support from both chambers of Congress or approval through a convention called by two-thirds of the states, followed by ratification by roughly three-fourths of state legislatures.