Kamala Harris already has her hands full with Donald Trump, but now she’s taking on America’s highest court as well.
The vice president stood firmly behind Joe Biden’s call on Monday for an overhaul of the Supreme Court, saying it is facing “a clear crisis of confidence.”
Harris also said in a statement that the court’s “fairness has been called into question after numerous ethics scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent.”
The sweeping reforms being proposed by the White House include a term limit of 18 years and a ban on immunity for serving presidents—a clear reference to Trump’s legal travails and the recent Supreme Court decision suggesting the commander in chief should not face criminal charges for behaviors linked to their constitutional role.
The VP’s decision to join forces with Biden will reverberate through the halls of the Supreme Court. With the president’s time running out at the White House, it was unlikely the reforms could be pushed through Congress before Election Day in November, but a Harris victory over Trump could mean that far-reaching changes in how the court is run could be implemented over the subsequent four years.
In a statement, Harris said: “President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court.”
She continued: “That is why President Biden and I are calling on Congress to pass important reforms—from imposing term limits for Justices’ active service, to requiring Justices to comply with binding ethics rules just like every other federal judge. And finally, in our democracy, no one should be above the law. So, we must also ensure that no former President has immunity for crimes committed while in the White House.
“These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law.”
Biden outlined his proposals in an op-ed in Monday’s Washington Post, calling for three major changes.
As well as an amendment clarifying that no president should be granted immunity from prosecutions for misdeeds while in office, Biden wants a new justice to be selected by the president every two years—with an 18-year maximum term—and a code of conduct for the nine sitting justices.
Republicans in Congress would almost certainly oppose a constitutional amendment, which would require a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate.
