Republicans slammed the push for radical Supreme Court reforms proposed by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as “outrageous” and a “threat to Democracy,” comparing the effort to judicial branch overhauls that led to the rise of a socialist dictatorship in Venezuela.
The Biden-Harris proposals include passing legislation that would impose an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices; requirements that justices disclose gifts, avoid public political activity and recuse themselves if they or their spouses have conflicts of interests; and a new constitutional amendment that would limit presidential immunity.
“That is outrageous,” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) said in a video posted on X, arguing that overhauling the high court “goes against the system – the American exceptionality we all enjoy.”
“Be very careful, because touching the Supreme Court is touching the core of the American system,” she added.
Appearing alongside Salazar were two other GOP members of Florida’s congressional delegation, who suggested the reforms were politically motivated.
“We’ve seen this in history happen time and time again, when somebody for political reasons tries to change the institutions,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said.
“It is highly dangerous, unacceptable and that is a real threat to democracy and all of the freedoms we enjoy in the United States,” he added.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) compared Biden and Harris’ proposed reforms to what the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez did when he took power in the late 1990s.
“What’s the first thing that Hugo Chavez did when he became president? He actually reformed the Supreme Court of Venezuela, so he made things legal for himself,” Gimenez noted.
“So what are they doing today? They’re using that same court system to put in jail the main opposition leader,” he added, referencing Maria Corina, the Maduro regime opposition leader who was blocked by the country’s high court from running for any office for 15 years and is now under investigation for allegedly conspiring with North Macedonia to hack Sunday’s election results.
“Touching the judicial system is one way to maintain power,” Gimenez continued. “And so this is really, really dangerous for our national security and for the security of democracy.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) echoed the Florida Republicans’ concerns.
“My colleagues are 100% correct,” Malliotakis wrote on X. “Hugo Chavez packed the Supreme Court of Venezuela from 20 to 32 justices that repeatedly ruled in the corrupt government’s favor.”
“It is how they destroyed the richest country in South America,” she added. “We can NEVER allow that to happen here.”
The president’s three-pronged plan faces long odds, as the divided Congress is unlikely to take up the issue in the six months Biden has left in office.
Biden’s push for a constitutional amendment restricting immunity – which comes in response to the Supreme Court affirming on July 1 that presidents, including former President Dnald Trump, have absolute immunity for official acts – faces even more hurdles, as it would require two-thirds support from both the House and the Senate or the approval of three-fourths of state legislatures in convention that must be called for by two-thirds of the states.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated Monday that the proposed reforms will be “dead on arrival in the 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,” the House speaker wrote in a statement.
“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,” he argued.
“It is telling that Democrats want to change the system that has guided our nation since its founding simply because they disagree with some of the Court’s recent decisions. This dangerous gambit of the Biden-Harris Administration is dead on arrival in the House,” Johnson concluded.