Biden calls for sweeping US Supreme Court reforms

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden unveiled plans Monday to reform the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, in a bold but long-shot move as he seeks to make a mark in his last six months in power.

In proposals backed by Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic election nominee, Biden is calling for 18-year term limits for the top court’s justices and an enforceable ethics code.

The 81-year-old also wants a constitutional amendment to reverse the court’s recent ruling backing Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity.

Biden’s move comes after a series of shock Supreme Court rulings such as the repeal of the nationwide right to abortion, and following a host of scandals involving the top court’s lifetime-appointed justices. The plans have almost no hope of getting through a deeply divided US Congress but could motivate Democratic voters in the November 2024 election, from which Biden dropped out just over a week ago.

“What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms,” Biden said in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.