The American president spoke on Monday, July 29, as did his vice-president Kamala Harris. Joe Biden took advantage of a celebration around the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act to explain to his compatriots that he hoped to see the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, reformed. A speech given from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Texas.
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When Joe Biden, who had announced that he would not run for a second term next November, justified this choice, in a speech In a solemn speech delivered from his office, he had promised that he would speak soon about the Supreme Court. This has now been done: on Monday, the White House first delivered in writing and broadly outline his ambitions for the highest court in his country, then spoke from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, on the campus of the University of Texas.
The Supreme Court has been weaponized.
The Democrat is calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent decision supporting Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity. He also wants to limit the term limits of the court’s justices, who currently serve for life, following shock decisions such as the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which for several decades guaranteed the right to elective termination of pregnancy across the country. Joe Biden is also calling for the adoption of a binding code of ethics, after a series of scandals.
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“ We are a nation of law, not of kings and dictators. “, the American number one said from Austin. Based on my experience, he added from the height of his 81 years, more than half of which he has spent in public life, I am sure we need these reforms. ” In tribune within the columns of the Washington Posthe adds : ” 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 of the United States Supreme Court. No one. » « What is happening now is not normal. »
The White House assures that Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the probable candidate of the Democratic Party on November 5, have ” look forward to working with Congress on these projects “But in the time they have, they have virtually no hope of getting through a deeply divided US Congress during their term. Instead, the president is expressing frustration with a court filled with justices appointed by Donald Trump. Of the court’s nine members, six are conservatives and half of them were appointed during the previous term.
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Joe Biden would like to see the term limit for court justices be 18 years, with new members appointed every two years. Sebastian Natrolla journalist specializing in the United States Supreme Court, comments: “ The Democrats no longer have control of the Court, and that poses a problem for the implementation of their political ideas. And a president like Donald Trump, who remains in power for four years, can appoint judges who will have a considerable influence on American society for 20, even 30 years, or even a little longer. »
As for the code of ethics, ” binding and enforceable “, it would be a matter of drawing inspiration from those that already apply to federal judges, while the Court has recently been rocked by scandals involving its members. Justice Clarence Thomas recently admitted, for example, that two luxurious vacations in 2019 were paid for by a Republican donor. He also ignored calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election, after his wife participated in the campaign aimed at keeping Mr. Trump in power despite his electoral defeat.
” This is not the first time Biden has talked about Supreme Court reform, argues Sébastien Natroll. At the beginning of his term, he had brought together a body to reflect on this, which was made up of legal professionals, including law professors. “Nevertheless, our colleague continues, “ the task is particularly complicated for him “, and the goal probably lies elsewhere, as opinion polls show a growing loss of public confidence in the most prestigious institution in the United States.
Bringing it up now that he is no longer a candidate for re-election is a way for him to take responsibility for the consequences if such a desire for reform is ever perceived badly. And conversely, it would allow Kamala Harris to bounce back on the subject if it pleases the electorate, and I think it will.
This will be a theme of the campaign and that is even the goal, believes Sébastien Natroll. If Joe Biden has no real chance of getting this reform through, he argues, This can still mobilize the Democratic electorate to the extent that they will say: “If you want this reform to succeed, you must give us the largest possible majority in both chambers, plus the presidency, obviously.“ “The Supreme Court has made some decisions in recent years that are particularly unpleasant to Democrats.” We are thinking in particular of the question of the right to abortion. »
Joe Biden’s idea is to promote a constitutional amendment that would require 2/3 of each chamber to be adopted and then ratification by 3/4 of the federated states, so it is an extremely complicated task and it is very likely that the Republicans, if only on principle, will oppose it…
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