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.
If a Senator, Congresspe son, or President leaves office early, the person appointed or elected to fill the vacancy finishes out the term. The Supreme Court would be similar.
Maybe have a rule similar to the President that if a Justice serves less than X years of a predecessor’s term they can be reappoonted, so that if someone dies or steps down a year before their term is up it doesn’t screw the person who fills the vacancy.