Can Biden Get Supreme Court Reforms Passed Before End of Term?

KQED's Forum

In keeping with his vow to reform the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden issued a plan calling for term limits for justices, a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity, and a “binding code of conduct” to replace the voluntary ethics guidelines established last year by the court. Biden assailed recent Supreme Court decisions and ethics scandals in a recent opinion piece in the Washington Post: “What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms,” he wrote. We’ll talk about Biden’s proposed reforms and which ones – if any – could be enacted before he leaves office.

Guests:

Olatunde C. Johnson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg '59 Professor of Law, Columbia Law School - She served on President Biden's Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court

Philip Bump, national columnist, Washington Post - Bump is the author of "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America"

Jennifer Ahearn, Senior counsel, Brennan Center - Ahearn previously served as Policy Director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), where she led a team focused on government ethics and accountability

Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator, Padilla sits on the Judiciary Committee