Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced a proposal for reforming the U.S. Supreme Court. In a speech at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum and in an op-ed in the Washington Post, President Biden called for terms limits for Supreme Court justices, a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court, and a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity. After the announcement, Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen issued the following statement:

“President Biden is correctly sounding the alarm and calling for court reform. As the Supreme Court threatens to derail our democracy and eviscerate the government’s ability to tackle the environmental crises we face, it’s clear that the president and Congress must take action to shore up our system of checks and balances and protect the rule of law.

“Over the last two terms, the Court has issued a series of decisions that empower ultra-conservative judges to set national policy in place of Congress and the president. Several decisions directly seek to dismantle our framework for environmental protection at a time when we are facing unprecedented environmental threats. What has become clear is that the Court’s conservative majority is advancing an ideological policy agenda without regard to established precedent, traditional understandings of the role of judges, or the Court’s own rules. Meanwhile, ethics scandals and overtly partisan decisions are eroding the Court’s legitimacy in ways that threaten enduring damage to the institution.

“We commend the president for calling out the Supreme Court’s agenda as ‘extreme and unchecked’ and elevating the urgent need for reform.”