Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has warned President Joe Biden over his proposal to bring sweeping reforms to the Supreme Court after a slew of controversies.
This comment — in which Gorsuch seemingly told Biden to “be careful” — occurred during an interview with Fox News.
Biden’s Supreme Court Reforms
Recently, Biden unveiled proposals to bring reform to the Supreme Court, which has seen many controversies over the last few years.
These proposals included mandatory ethics rules to keep justices from receiving goods or travel accommodations. Other proposals include setting term limits on justices.
Gorsuch Responds to Biden’s Proposals
Now, Gorsuch has openly responded to Biden’s proposed ideas on bringing reform to the Supreme Court during an interview with Fox News’ Shannon Bream.
When Bream first asked Gorsuch about these ideas, the justice quickly said, “You’re not going to be surprised that I’m not going to get into what is now a political issue during a presidential election year. I don’t think that would be helpful.”
Gorsuch Defends Supreme Court
Gorsuch then went on to defend the court, saying that Americans benefit from having this independent judiciary.
He said that this “means that when you’re unpopular, you can get a fair hearing under the law and under the Constitution. If you’re in the majority, you don’t need judges and juries to hear you and protect your rights. You’re popular.”
A Warning to Biden
After explaining why he felt the court was so important for average Americans, Gorsuch then seemingly warned the president.
“And so I just say, be careful,” he stated.
A Supreme Court’s Lack of Approval
These comments by Gorsuch come after many rulings and controversial scenarios have made a majority of Americans distrust the court as a whole.
According to a Gallup Poll, only 40% of Americans approve of the job that the Supreme Court is doing.
Supreme Court Controversies
Over the last few years, many controversies revolving around some Supreme Court justices have become public.
So far, Gorsuch hasn’t been attached to any of these major scandals. However, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have. These situations have caused many lawmakers and regular Americans to want some level of reform on the court.
Justices Receiving Gifts From Billionaires
Recently, Thomas has been under increasing fire after various reports emerged that he had accepted many trips and expensive gifts from the billionaire Harlan Crow over the last few decades.
Critics have accused Thomas of making ethical violations as a justice. This has also caused lawmakers, and Biden, to call on the court to have mandatory ethics rules.
Trump’s 2020 Election Loss
Thomas also faced much controversy after it was revealed that his wife, Ginni Thomas, worked hard to help former President Donald Trump try to overturn his election loss in 2020 to Biden.
Detractors wanted Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election, or Trump. Thomas never did this.
Alito’s Controversies
Meanwhile, Justice Alito also had his fair share of controversies when reporting indicated that one of his homes flew an upside-down American flag around the time of the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
Another report broke that an “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown at another of Alito’s homes. Both of these flags were flown during the January 6 attack.
Presidential Immunity
While controversies have emerged regarding justices’ activities outside of the courtroom, many critics have called for reforms to be made on the Supreme Court thanks to their rulings.
Most notably, the court ruled that a president has full presidential immunity from prosecution for any official act. Detractors have claimed that this could make a president a king.
Biden Won’t See Court Reforms
As Biden only has a few more months left in office, the president likely won’t see any of these reforms to the Supreme Court made by the end of his term.
However, these proposals seem to be a new policy goal for the Democratic Party, particularly as many Democrat lawmakers believe that the court’s power needs to be reined in.
