This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.
- See what the Magnolia State’s federal delegation is saying about the President’s call for term limits, ethics reform at the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Monday, President Joe Biden (D) called for term limits on U.S. Supreme Court Justices while also pushing for Congress to pass ethics rules for the Court and move forward a proposed constitutional amendment to restrict presidential immunity.
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the “dangerous gambit” from the Biden-Harris Administration is “dead on arrival” in the Republican majority House.
“President Biden’s proposal to radically overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American people’s faith in our system of justice,” Speaker Johnson said on X (formerly Twitter). “This proposal is the logical conclusion to the Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Democrats’ ongoing efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court. Their calls to expand and pack the Court will soon resume.”
Speaking at the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, President Biden addressed Johnson’s remarks.
“As the press shouted to me as I got off Air Force One, the Republican Speaker of the House said, ‘Whatever he proposes is dead on arrival,’” Biden told the crowd gathered for an event marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. “Well, I think his thinking is dead on arrival.”
President Biden went on to say, “I’ve been told that I’ve overseen more Supreme Court nominations as Senator, Vice President, and President than anyone in history — anyone alive today, I should say.”
Based on that experience, Biden added, “I’m certain we need these reforms. We need these reforms to restore trust in the courts and preserve the system of checks and balances that are vital to our democracy.”
Yet, critics view the “reforms” as an attempt to weaken the Court. Mississippi’s 3rd District Congressman Michael Guest (R), a former prosecutor, is among them. He told Magnolia Tribune on Tuesday that the Republicans in Congress will oppose Biden’s proposals.
“My fellow conservatives and I will fight against any efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration that undermine the independence and sovereignty of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Guest said. “Our founding fathers created the Supreme Court as a check on the executive and legislative branches of government, and these so-called ‘reforms’ are only an attempt to weaken the Court’s effectiveness and ability to operate in a Constitutional manner.”
Congressman Mike Ezell (R-MS 4) agreed. The former Sheriff told Magnolia Tribune that the Founding Fathers thoughtfully designed the federal government to ensure an equal balance of power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
“President Biden’s proposal of ‘reforms’ to the U.S. Supreme Court is another attempt by the far left to undermine our nation’s judicial system and disrupt the equilibrium established by the U.S. Constitution,” Ezell said. “If the Biden Administration believed [the Supreme Court] had been ruling in their favor, this politically charged, last-ditch effort would never have seen the light of day.”
A request for comment from 2nd District Congressman Bennie Thompson, the state’s lone Democrat member of Mississippi federal delegation, went unanswered. First District Congressman Trent Kelly (R) was travelling and unavailable for comment.
Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was supportive of his fellow Democrat’s proposals, complimenting President Biden “for saying what so many Americans are thinking—the Supreme Court is an ethical morass.”
However, while he specifically noted his support for a code of ethics for the Justices and “undoing” the Court’s presidential immunity decision on X, Schumer did not mention the call for term limits.
Mississippi’s two Republican Senators – Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker – both strongly opposed the President’s Court proposals in their comments to Magnolia Tribune.
Senator Hyde-Smith said Americans are tired of Democrats “trying to change the rules.”
“We’ve seen President Biden and Congressional Democrats try to pull this card time and time again, whether it is looking to pack the court or get rid of the filibuster,” Hyde-Smith said. “Americans are tired of Democrats always trying to change the rules every time something doesn’t go their way, and so am I. The Supreme Court is too important an institution to be subjected to these political games.”
Senator Wicker said President Biden “needs to stop undermining the people’s trust in the high court.”
“Our Founders were right that the Supreme Court would need independence,” Wicker told Magnolia Tribune. “Putting political pressure on Congress to ignore the Court’s judicial autonomy is the wrong move.”
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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