Vice President Kamala Harris has indicated that she will continue President Biden’s proposed Supreme Court reforms if she is elected to the Oval Office in November. The President announced his proposals on July 29 and described the current Supreme Court bench as “extreme.” Biden said he wants Congress to approve an enforceable ethics code and agree term limits for Supreme Court Justices. He also called for a constitutional amendment to limit Presidential immunity, prompted by the recent Supreme Court decision to award limited immunity to Donald Trump for official acts carried out during his Presidency.
While running for President in 2019, Biden rejected ideas for transforming the Supreme Court, but analysts say Harris has taken a starkly different tone and even showed that she is open to extending the number of judges on the Court. When asked about potential reforms in 2019, Harris said the Court was “on the verge of a crisis of confidence” and Democrats must “take on the challenge.”
Some people, however, have expressed doubt that Harris will follow through with reforms from the White House. Alex Aronson, the executive director of the liberal advocacy group Court Accountability, said he was “not so sure” but conceded that Brian Fallon’s presence on the Vice President’s Oval Office campaign team signifies that change may be possible. Fallon is a long-time advocate of Supreme Court reform and is one of Harris’s top aides.
When President Biden announced his proposed reforms, enraged Republicans called him a “threat to democracy.” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida called the plans “outrageous” and said they touched “the core of the American systems.” Others worried that Supreme Court reform would lead America down a socialist past with totalitarian oversight. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, also of Florida, agreed and said governments who plan to seize power do so by altering the structure and function of critical legal and political institutions. Rep. Carlos Gimenez stated that when Hugo Chavez became President of Venezuela, one of the first things he did was disempower the judiciary.
The proposals include limiting Supreme Court Justices to an 18-year term, requiring Justices to disclose any gifts, avoid involvement in political activities, and recuse themselves in the event of any political conflict.
The latter requirement likely stems from a recent scandal involving Justice Samuel Alito, who had an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flying outside his New Jersey home. Trump supporters often use the flag, and it was widely seen during the January 6 protests of 2021. Democrats called on Alito to recuse himself from any case involving Donald Trump or January 6, but he refused to do so. Alito wrote to Congressional Democrats stating that the flag was not his and that his wife decided to display it outside their home. He added that his wife enjoys First Amendment rights and is free to display whatever banners she chooses.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin did not accept Alito’s justification, however, and called for an enforceable code of conduct. Other Democrats echoed Durbin’s remarks, including Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, who said Alito’s response to recusal requests amounted to “the dog ate my homework.”