President also says presidential immunity for crimes should be removed and ethics rules for justices should be stricter

President also says presidential immunity for crimes should be removed and ethics rules for justices should be stricter

Joe Biden has called for a series of reforms 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.

In an op-ed published on Monday morning, the president said justices should be limited to a maximum of 18 years’ service on the court rather than the current lifetime appointment, and also said ethics rules should be strengthened to regulate justices’ behavior.

The call for reform comes after the supreme court ruled in early July that former presidents have some degree of immunity from prosecution, a decision that served as a major victory for Donald Trump amid his legal travails.

“This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Biden wrote.

  • @givesomefucksEnglish
    -27•4 months ago

    He had 4 years, two of which we had the numbers…

    It’s just a lot of Dems didn’t want to get rid of the fillibuster.

    Having a D by your name isn’t enough, we need to elect Dems to those seats who are actually willing to fight.

    • @ChonkyOwlbear
      28•4 months ago

      Term limits on SCJ would take a constitutional amendment, so no we haven’t had the numbers.

    • @jordanlund
      10•4 months ago

      We didn’t have the numbers. The Senate was 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, 2 Independents. 2 of the Democrats (Manchin and Sinema) flipped to I.

      So 50-46-4. And Manchin and Sinema refused to touch the filibuster.

    • themeatbridge
      3•4 months ago

      He’d have to be a stronger leader to pull that off. But you’re right, it starts at the bottom. Elect progressives to local positions, and that becomes the foundation of the party. It’s precisely what conservatives have I been doing for 50 years.

        • themeatbridge
          1•4 months ago

          If Biden were a strong leader, he could challenge his party and his followers to do the hard things. He could make a persuasive argument, rally the masses, and convince people that it is in their best interest to do what he wants to do. A strong leader would do the right thing, even if they might lose.

          It’s much easier to motivate your followers if they are all narcissistic bigots, of course.

            • themeatbridge
              1•4 months ago

              I don’t expect him to win every fight. I’m really fucking tired of hearing about how we can’t be fighting battles because we’ll lose. The point is to engage in the debate. You’re not going to convince your enemy, but you can drain their public support and bolster your own. So many progressive oolicies have languished in the Democrat doldrums of “We don’t have a super-majority so we’re not even going to try” for decades.

                • themeatbridge
                  1•4 months ago

                  I’m not mad at him for that. I’m mad at him for not pushing on climate change, or income inequality, or corporate real estate monopolies, or any number of other issues on which Biden and the Democrats have been slow walking half measure platitudes.

    • @ChocoboRocket
      3•4 months ago

      Not saying there wouldn’t be more, but at least two Democrats are Republicans who ran under D and sabotaged several democratic agendas.

      It would have been great to have the Democrats tow the party line and pass more meaningful legislation, but corrupt politicians gotta corrupt.

      • @givesomefucksEnglish
        -1•4 months ago

        but at least two Democrats are Republicans who ran under D and sabotaged several democratic agendas.

        So did Joe and the DNC fall for it?

        Or were they lying when they said 50 was enough for the party platform?

        Hell, four years ago Joe was saying he could get Republican senators to vote for the Dem platform

        It would have been great to have the Democrats tow the party line and pass more meaningful legislation, but corrupt politicians gotta corrupt.

        Dont tell me. Go tell the DNC who defends them, but hangs progressives out to dry and even supports their challengers.