McConnell says Biden’s plans for high court ‘dead on arrival’
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s proposed term limits for Supreme Court justices were “dead on arrival” in Congress.
On Monday, Biden proposed authorizing presidents to appoint justices every two years and limiting them to 18 years in active service.
“I couldn’t be more disappointed. This is a man who was chairman of the Judiciary Committee for a long time,” McConnell said of Biden, according to The Hill. “He absolutely knows what he recommended is unconstitutional, to try to limit the terms of the Supreme Court justices who under the Constitution are appointed for life.”
“I know he knows better and such a proposal would be dead on arrival in Congress,” he said.
Biden’s proposal includes establishing a mandatory ethics code and enacting a Constitutional amendment to eliminate presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for crimes committed in office.
The amendment, named the “No One Is Above the Law Amendment,” would address the Supreme Court’s recent controversial decision in July, which ruled presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” carried out during their presidency.
McConnell, 82, previously said he’ll step down as Senate Republican leader in November. The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker is the longest-serving Senate leader in history.
