One of Biden's Supreme Court reform obstacles: the Supreme Court

Original Article:

Source: Link

President Joe Biden is preparing to endorse Supreme Court reforms like term limits and a binding ethics code for the justices. Generally speaking, it’s a positive development at a time when the Roberts Court is exerting outsized power over the other two, nominally coequal branches of government. But even if Congress (which is partly Republican controlled) were to pass such reforms, the Republican-majority Supreme Court could strike them down as unconstitutional. There’s debate over whether term limits require a constitutional amendment, and the court has resisted perceived intrusions on its operations. The court last year did adopt its own code of conduct, but that lacks an enforcement mechanism. That doesn’t mean that the court’s protective view of itself is correct, or that Democrats shouldn’t push for change in any event. But a Supreme Court that jealously guards its power imposes a practical reality on any efforts to curtail that power. Perhaps counterintuitively, the most significant potential reform could be the least legally controversial: adding seats to the court to balance the 6-3 Republican supermajority. Legislation could accomplish that and wouldn't require a constitutional amendment. The court’s size has changed several times throughout its history. Yet, Biden doesn’t appear to be pushing for court expansion. But while the court itself would be unable to stop it on constitutional grounds, expanding the court would — like any other attempt to diminish the court’s power — have to get through Congress with its Republican-controlled House first.