Critics warn that Biden's Supreme Court reform plan will "threaten the Constitution"

By 
 July 30, 2024

This week saw President Joe Biden call for reforms to the Supreme Court along with a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity.

While Biden says those moves are needed to "strengthen our democracy," his critics say they would put the rule of law in danger. 

Biden claims his ideas "are supported by a majority of Americans"

The president laid out his proposal in an op-ed piece published by the Washington Post on Monday. It called for term limits along with "a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court."

He is also seeking a No One Is Above the Law Amendment which "would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office."

"All three of these reforms are supported by a majority of Americans — as well as conservative and liberal constitutional scholars," Biden insisted.

However, First Liberty Institute chief counsel Kelly Shackelford and former Attorney General Bill Barr were quick to push back on the president's claims in an op-ed of their own published by Fox News.

Shackelford and Barr raise concerns about court packing

"Americans need to understand that the campaign to radically change the Court is coming," Shackelford and the former attorney general cautioned.

"While current proposals like term limits for the longest-serving justices and an imposed code of ethics threaten the Constitution and the separation of powers, the far left is demanding that the Court be packed with additional liberal justices," they continued.

The pair also took note of the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed openness to adding more justices to America's highest judicial body.

Shackelford and Barr predicted that this "is exactly what will happen" in the event of a Democratic victory in November as "it only takes a majority vote and the signature of the President."

Lindsey Graham says proposal "will be dead on arrival in the Senate"

Shackelford and Barr are not alone in voicing opposition to Biden's Supreme Court reform plan, as South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The Hill reported that Graham told CBS News host Robert Costa on Sunday that any proposal "will be dead on arrival in the Senate."

Graham claimed that Biden wants "to destroy the court, adding, "They want to pack the court. They want … to undercut the conservative court."

"They've tried to marginalize the court and destroy the Roberts court. The Roberts court has brought constitutional balance back to the court, and the liberals in this country want to pack the court. They want to destroy the court," he added.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson