President Biden calls for major changes to the U.S. Supreme Court

AUSTIN, Texas - President Joe Biden is calling for major changes to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Speaking in Austin on Monday, July 29, Biden is pushing for term limits and a code of conduct.

"The second thing I'm asking for, we've had term-limits for presidents in the United States for nearly 75 years, after the Truman administration. And I believe we should have term limits for Supreme Court justices in the United States as well," Biden said.

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Democratic analyst Ed Espinoza and Travis County GOP chairman Matt Mackowiak joined FOX 7 Austin's Mike Warren to discuss.

Mike Warren: Ed, you were actually there at the library for the speech. Do you support term limits in a stronger code of conduct and why?  

Ed Espinoza: I do. I think the term limits for the Supreme Court would be very important. I think term limits actually at all levels of government are important. If eight years is good enough for the president, then what he's proposing, which is 18 years at the Supreme Court, should be more than sufficient. That allows people time to implement their expertise and time to cycle out without getting out of touch with the electorate. 18 years in Washington is a very long time. And when it comes to the code of conduct, that is equally important. Look at the facts. We have Supreme Court justices who are getting bought off by donors. One justice in particular, Clarence Thomas, who's a donor, bought a house for Clarence Thomas, his mom. These are not the type of conflicts that Supreme Court justices should be having. So term limits in the code of ethics are extremely important, regardless of party. By the way, if this is something that applies to conservative justices, it will also apply to liberal justices. I think this is the kind of code of conduct that Americans would expect from their judicial system.

Mike Warren: Matt, is Congress ready to support the president's call for term limits and code of conduct?

Matt Mackowiak: Joe Biden was Senate Judiciary Committee chairman. He served in the Senate for 40 years. He was vice president for eight years, and now he's been president for four years. Finally, as he's five months from leaving office, he's now proposing sweeping reforms only because there is a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. And I have to correct you. There is no conflict of interest. If there is a conflict of interest with Justice Thomas or any justice, they are duty bound to recuse themselves. And that does happen from time to time. They don't do it. You could add you're interrupting, and you're never going to be able to do it though. And I did interrupt. You know, there hasn't been a conflict. There have been no conflicts related to Harlan Caro, the donor in Dallas. There have been zero conflicts where he's been directly or even indirectly involved in a case. But that's the way Clarence Thomas has been before him, period. That is a factual statement. I will put my reputation behind it. So, that line of attack is specious. It's false, it's defamatory, it's ridiculous. Now, a code of conduct would be a good thing. It would be a good thing for both sides. It would be a good thing if it also applied to Congress and to the United States Senate. It sure would be good to have term limits there as well. We have people in their 80s and 90s in the U.S. Senate who can barely walk. So look, this is an idea that's not serious. It doesn't have 60 votes in the Senate. It doesn't even have 51 votes in the Senate. And it's going absolutely nowhere. Which is why Joe Biden did not brief the Hill, why this thing has landed with a thud, why it's going nowhere, and why he's only proposing it now that there's a conservative majority for the first time in 50 years.  

Mike Warren: Ed, the floor is yours.  

Ed Espinoza: So yes, Joe Biden was in the Senate for a long time, but he acknowledged the term limits as vice president. He stepped down early as president. His age was an issue, as conservatives pointed out. The age of justices on the Supreme Court is something that has been pointed out as well. So it is equally tangible here, too. As far as justices with a conflict of interest. Look, Samuel Alito has had interest conflicts and has not removed himself from cases. This has happened in other situations as well. I can give a couple of examples in our limited amount of time here. But the truth is, is that it can't hurt to have a code of conduct. And sure, it should apply to Congress as well. And if there aren't 60 votes in the Senate and there aren't red states who would vote for it, then those states and those members need to own up to the fact that they don't want to vote for a code of conduct or a code of ethics. Sure. Let him explain in a way.

Mike Warren: You know, Matt, if the shooter on the other foot, if the court was heavily liberal, wouldn't Republicans also be calling for some kind of change?

Matt Mackowiak: Well, it was heavily liberal for most of my adult life, and I don't remember us ever proposing things as ridiculous and unconstitutional as packing the Supreme Court or impeaching Supreme Court justices, which leading Democrats in the House and Senate had proposed in recent years, or this radical proposal that that outgoing President Joe Biden has put forward. Keep in mind, there's an important concept in the judiciary that is critical, and that is the independence of the judiciary. Ed mentioned something about being out of touch with the electorate, and that is irrelevant. Judges are there to interpret the law, to uphold the Constitution, to understand the facts of the case, and to give a fair ruling. Period. The electorate is irrelevant.

Mike Warren: Okay, we're out of time. We've got to wrap it up. Fair to say, we do not have a meeting of the minds on this particular one. Ed and Matt, thank you both very much.