President Joe Biden will visit Austin on Monday, speaking at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library for the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. At the event, Biden is expected to talk about his decision to end his reelection campaign and to address a proposal to overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court.
In recent weeks, Biden faced increasing pressure from fellow Democrats to end his reelection bid. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin was the first in Congress to call for Biden’s withdrawal. Now, after ending his reelection campaign, he will appear at Doggett’s district in a library with the name of the last President that withdrew from a presidential race.
Doggett praised Biden’s decision.
“Though the circumstances may differ, like President [Lyndon B.] Johnson, he has put country over ego,” He said. “His selfless decision to protect our democracy from an authoritarian takeover has cemented his legacy as a true statesman and patriot while offering renewed hope to all of us.”
Biden is also expected to talk about his plans to overhaul the Supreme Court.
On Monday, the president unveiled a proposal that would establish term limits to justice and create an enforceable ethics code for them.
Biden said Justice’s terms should be limited to 18 years in court and that the sitting president would appoint a justice every two years. He also said that the code of ethics would require justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse himself from cases involving conflicts of interest.
Currently, justices have for-life terms and have increased their years in court.
Gabe Roth, executive director of the group Fix the Court, told the Associated Press that justices served, on average, 17 years on court since its founding until 1970. After 1970, justices have been serving an average of about 28 years.
“If justices have this much power, then they should be individuals who reflect America as it currently is, not the America of 30 or 40 years ago, the dead hand of the president who appointed them still influencing policy,” Roth said.
A poll conducted by the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that most Americans support limiting how long justices serve on the court. The poll indicates that 67% of citizens support the proposal.
However, passing the proposal would be difficult, as constitutional amendments require two-thirds of votes in congress and Republicans have already criticized the proposal. House Speaker Mike Johnosn called the proposal “dead on arrival” in the lower chamber in an X/Twitter post.
Still Biden is confident in his efforts, and this speech at Austin could give him the support he needs.
“I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers,” Biden wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post. “What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.”
