Democrats Push Bill To Place Term Limits On Supreme Court Justices

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Two House Democrats have proposed a bill which would place term limits on Supreme Court Justices after the Court delivered consecutive losses to the Democrat party within the last week.

On Monday, Representatives Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) reintroduced The Supreme Court Unit Term Limit and Regular Appointment Act, which would place an 18-year term limit on all Supreme Court Justices.
The reintroduction of the bill comes after the Supreme Court had struck down the students debt relief program, and sided with a Christian web designer against the state of Colorado.
The two representatives said that the new bill needs to be passed due to the conservative majority in the Court. They argued that their bill would “rebalance” and “stop extreme partisanship” within the Court.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to block student debt relief will put many hardworking Americans at risk of default and will be a disaster for our economy,” Khanna said. “Our Founding Fathers intended for lifetime appointments to ensure impartiality. The decision today demonstrates how justices have become partisan and out of step with the American public. I’m proud to reintroduce The Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act to implement term limits to rebalance the Court and stop extreme partisanship.”
Beyer argued that it is time to implement term limits because of “recent partisan decisions” which destroyed “historic protections for reproductive rights” pointing towards the Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

“For many Americans, the Supreme Court is a distant, secretive, unelected body that can make drastic changes in their lives without any accountability,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “Recent partisan decisions by the Supreme Court that destroyed historic protections for reproductive rights, voting rights and more have undermined public trust in the Court – even as inappropriate financial relationships between justices and conservative donors raised new questions about its integrity. I have long supported reforming the Supreme Court to limit terms to end lifetime tenures and ensure the Court remains a fair and impartial arbiter of justice. Our bill would achieve this and help restore balance to a heavily politicized Court.”

President Joe Biden was recently asked what if he would support reform of the Supreme Court, and if he was worried about the Conservative majority “doing too much harm.”
“Well, I think they may do too much harm,” the president answered. “But I think if we start the process of trying to expand the court, we’re going to politicize it maybe forever in a way that is not healthy, that you can’t get back.”
The reintroduced Bill would also “limit the Senate’s advice and consent authority in relation to the appointment of Justices.”