Joe Biden to Focus on Supreme Court Reform in Final Six Months

President Joe Biden plans to focus on Supreme Court reform in his final months in office, he announced in a televised address on Wednesday night.

On Sunday, Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement as the Democratic nominee in November's election.

In an Oval Office speech, Biden explained why he is withdrawing from the presidential election and set out his administration's achievements. He also mentioned what he hopes to achieve in his final months in the White House.

"I'm going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy, Supreme Court reform. You know, I will keep working to ensure America remains strong and secure and the leader of the free world," he said.

President Joe Biden at the NAACP's 115th National Convention in Las Vegas on July 16. Biden outlined the need for Supreme Court reform during a televised address on July 24. President Joe Biden at the NAACP's 115th National Convention in Las Vegas on July 16. Biden outlined the need for Supreme Court reform during a televised address on July 24. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Th president also said that with his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, his administration was the first to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

"I've kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and be a president for all Americans," he said.

A recent Washington Post report said Biden was preparing to endorse significant changes to the Supreme Court, such as establishing term limits for justices and implementing an enforceable ethics code.

Biden is also said to be considering whether to back a constitutional amendment that would eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other top officials—a way to counter the recent Supreme Court decision that granted broad presidential immunity.

On July 1, the court ruled in a 6-3 decision that former presidents have immunity for official acts conducted while in office, but not for unofficial acts. This ruling came from an appeal by former President Donald Trump, who was indicted on charges of trying to illegally interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

Newsweek contacted Biden's spokesperson and the Supreme Court's Public Information Office for comment via email outside normal working hours.

Biden's effort to reform the court comes after conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito faced criticism for accepting undisclosed gifts and holding perceived biases in cases involving Trump and Thomas' wealthy benefactors.

Both justices have declined to recuse themselves from Trump-related cases, prompting Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, to file articles of impeachment against them earlier this month. The impeachment attempt is unlikely to succeed in the Republican-controlled House.

The proposed term limits could reduce the politicization of Supreme Court appointments, while an enforceable ethics code would address recent controversies surrounding some justices' conduct.

Currently, Supreme Court justices abide by guidelines that have less effect than the ethics code enforced on federal judges in lower courts.