Biden to propose Supreme Court term limits, binding code of conduct

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday will propose sweeping reforms to the Supreme Court, including term limits and a binding code of conduct for its nine justices, but a deeply-divided Congress means the changes have little chance of becoming law.

Biden will propose the changes, as well a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad presidential immunity, during a speech at the presidential library of former President Lyndon B. Johnson in Austin, Texas.

“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. No one," Biden said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post on Monday.

Biden's push for reforms comes a week after Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to square off against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in November.

It also follows the Supreme Court's ruling that there is no Constitutional right to abortion and other decisions that blocked Biden's agenda on immigration, student loans, vaccine mandates and climate change.

Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court's life-tenured justices have no binding ethics code of conduct. They are subject to disclosure laws requiring them to report outside income and certain gifts, though food and other "personal hospitality" such as lodging at an individual's residence is generally exempted.

The Court in November adopted its first code of conduct after revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas accepting undisclosed travel from a wealthy benefactor. There were also reports this year that flags associated with then-President Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss flew outside Justice Samuel Alito's homes in Virginia and New Jersey.

Critics say the code of conduct does not go far enough since it allows justices to decide for themselves whether to recuse from cases and provides no enforcement mechanism.

Biden will call on Congress to pass binding, enforceable rules that require justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest, the White House said.

He will also urge Congress to adopt an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices, the White House said.

Legislation would be required to impose term limits and an ethics code on the Supreme Court, but it is unlikely to pass the current divided Congress.

In addition, Biden will propose a constitutional amendment that makes clear that having served as president does not guarantee immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction, or sentencing.

Such an amendment would be even more difficult to enact, requiring two-thirds support from both chambers of Congress or a convention called by two-thirds of the states, and then ratification by 38 of the 50 state legislatures.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions that were within his constitutional powers as president in a landmark decision recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Michael Perry)