President Biden proposed major changes to the Supreme Court on Monday, including 18-year term limits for justices and a binding code of conduct.
The Supreme Court now includes six conservative justices and three liberal ones. Three justices, all conservatives, have served longer than 18 years: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas.
How 18-year term limits would affect each sitting Supreme Court justice
Under Mr. Biden’s plan, presidents would appoint a new Supreme Court justice every two years. His statement announcing the proposal did not address how and when current justices’ terms would end if his proposal were to be adopted.
If the rule had already been in effect and term limits had allowed the president to choose a justice every two years during the past two decades, the court’s ideological split would be flipped. Assuming each justice had served the full 18-year term, six justices would have been appointed by Democratic presidents, and three by Republicans.
The court would have a liberal majority if term limits were already in place
Mr. Biden also proposed a constitutional amendment in opposition to the court’s decision this month that presidents are entitled to substantial immunity from criminal prosecution. His three proposals are unlikely to come to fruition soon. The overhaul would require congressional approval, which is not expected to come from a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a divided Senate.