President Joe Biden has laid out a series of potential Supreme Court reforms on July 29, intensifying an already controversial issue before the 2024 election.
The reforms include a constitutional amendment stripping presidents of immunity from criminal prosecution, a binding code of ethics, and a system of term limits whereby justices receive 18-year appointments. Under his proposal, a new justice would be appointed every two years.
![President Joe Biden speaks to attendees while commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, on July 29, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2F30%2Fid5696159-Biden-GettyImages-2164282712-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
It’s unlikely the proposals will pass with the current political environment in Congress. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, praised the president’s proposals as “great in theory” but said that “practically speaking they are non-starters.”
House Republicans have already panned the proposals while Democrats welcomed them. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) accused the president of trying to “radically overhaul” the Court with proposals and described them as “dead on arrival.”
To ratify a constitutional amendment, Democrats would need either a national convention or two-thirds approval from the House and Senate. From there, three-fourths of the state legislatures or state ratifying conventions must approve as well.
Vice President Kamala Harris offered her support for the proposals, which will likely form a key part of her race against former President Donald Trump. She has been an outspoken critic of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a decision that was made possible with three of Trump’s nominees.
The White House promoted the proposals while stating that: “This Court has gutted civil rights protections, taken away a woman’s right to choose, and now granted presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office.”
At least three justices could be removed depending on how Congress passes legislation or a would-be constitutional amendment gets crafted. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts each have served longer than 18 years on the Court.
Court packing has been advanced by congressional Democrats but wasn’t part of the proposals offered by the president on July 29.
His term limits proposal could be problematic given that justices have traditionally been understood as receiving life tenure under the Constitution. Congressional Democrats have suggested allowing justices to hear cases falling under their appellate jurisdiction, under which the vast majority of high profile cases fall, for 18 years and only its original jurisdiction after that time period.
Biden didn’t specify an enforcement mechanism for his proposed code of conduct but referenced the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, which has suggested internal disciplinary procedures.
Justice Elena Kagan, just days prior to Biden’s announcement, suggested Roberts could appoint a panel of judges for enforcement. Alito, meanwhile, has pushed back on the idea that Congress could regulate the Court.
—Sam Dorman
SENATE CONSIDERS ONLINE SAFETY BILLS FOR KIDS
The Senate is poised to pass two bills today to protect America’s children online, an area where federal laws were last updated 25 years ago.
One bill expands the age limit for protected minors from 13 to 16—a significant change to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). The legislation also requires social media platforms to obtain consent from users aged 13 to 16 before collecting their personal information and bans advertising targeting children and teens.
The other bill, known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), requires social media companies to take measures to prevent the spread of harmful content related to suicide, eating disorders, bullying, and drugs.
KOSA addresses tech companies’ algorithms for keeping users consuming content. It requires tech companies to allow minors to limit the category of recommendations or opt out of personalized recommendation systems that facilitate infinite scrolling.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been instrumental in pushing the bills to a floor vote before the summer recess, hailed the bills as a “groundbreaking step toward ensuring our kids’ online safety.” He said on the Senate floor on July 25 when senators voted 86–1 to end the debate, setting the two bills up for a vote today.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say these bills will be the most important updates in decades to federal laws that protect kids on the internet. And it’s a very good first step,” he added.
He also saluted the parents who lost their children over online harm for “turning their grief into grace” and demanding change.
The bills would “finally advance bold actions to hold Big Tech accountable,” said the White House last week. It urged Congress to send them to the president’s desk “without delay.”
—Terri Wu
GUILTY PLEAS OVER IRS BRIBERY ATTEMPT
Two men have pleaded guilty to acting as illegal Chinese agents to help Beijing suppress Falun Gong, a faith group that has been under 25 years of persecution in China.
The two, John Chen and Lin Feng, worked for months in 2023 with a Chinese official trying to bribe the IRS to revoke the nonprofit status of a New York-based organization run by Falun Gong practitioners.
Mr. Chen, with guidance and funding from the Chinese authorities, filed a defective complaint to the IRS so as to revoke the nonprofit status of an entity run by Falun Gong practitioners.
They paid $5,000 in cash bribes to an undercover officer disguised as an IRS agent. They promised $50,000 for opening an audit on the nonprofit entity and 60 percent of any potential whistleblower award if the case came through.
At a July 25 court hearing for Mr. Lin, prosecutors said the targeted entity was upstate New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, which brings a global performance each year to showcase pre-communist China. Many performers practice Falun Gong, and the performance also includes segments highlighting human rights abuses in the current day, such as the persecution of Falun Gong.
Beijing designated Falun Gong as “one of the top five threats to its rule,” a statement from the Justice Department states.
Mr. Chen and Mr. Lin each pleaded guilty to one count of acting as an unregistered foreign government agent and one count of bribing a public official.
Each faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The applicable sentencing range is 24 to 30 months of imprisonment for Mr. Chen with a fine of $10,000 to $95,000, and 12 to 18 months imprisonment for Mr. Lin with a fine of $5,500 to $55,000.
The guilty plea announcement came just after the Justice Department brought charges against a man in the telecom sector for allegedly spying on U.S.-based Falun Gong practitioners and other dissidents.
—Eva Fu
BOOKMARKS
U.S. debt has reached a record $35 trillion in what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called “an unsustainable fiscal path.” Nearly 7.3 trillion has been added since January 2021.
U.S. officials are urging restraint following a Hezbollah rocket attack on Israel that killed 12 children on a soccer field. Fears are mounting that the attack will provoke further conflict with the Lebanon-based terror group just as Israel is set to wind down its war in Gaza.
A federal judge has ruled that a law allowing ballots to be counted up to five days after the election can stand. The decision strikes down lawsuits brought against the rule by the RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi.
The FDA has given approval to a new blood test for colorectal cancer in adults age 45 and older. It is hoped that the new test will spur more screening, and increase early detection and treatment.
The White House has approved another $1.7 billion in weapons and funding for Ukraine’s war against Russia. The funds will be drawn from the $61 billion aid package approved by Congress this April, which brought the total allocation of U.S. funding for the war to $174 billion.
—Stacy Robinson