Biden calls for Supreme Court reforms and constitutional limits on presidential immunity
President Joe Biden will call for an overhaul of the Supreme Court and an amendment to the Constitution limiting presidential power after the Trump immunity ruling.
President Joe Biden on Monday called for an overhaul of the Supreme Court and a constitutional amendment limiting the power of his own office — reforms that might not be implemented but demonstrate his priorities in his final months in office — in an op-ed Monday in The Washington Post.
“I served as a U.S. senator for 36 years, including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today," Biden wrote. "I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers. What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.”
Biden called for a constitutional amendment saying former presidents don’t have any immunity from federal criminal indictments, trials, convictions or sentencing.
"I share our founders’ belief that the president’s power is limited, not absolute," the president wrote. "We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators.”
President Joe Biden in the Oval Office last week.Samuel Corum / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe amendment is in line with Biden’s recent statements that “no president is above the law,” a refrain he has repeated several times since the Supreme Court said some actions related to the duties of a president can’t be prosecuted. The decision favors former President Donald Trump in criminal cases against him and could enable other former presidents to avoid certain criminal charges going forward.
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