STATEMENT: Biden-Harris SCOTUS Reforms Will Bring Order to an Out-of-Control Court, Says CAP’s Patrick Gaspard

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Biden-Harris administration proposed a series of proposals to restore accountability to the U.S. Supreme Court, including 18-year term limits for justices. Following the announcement, Patrick Gaspard, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:

Implementing 18-year term limits for justices is a monumental step to ensure that our democracy works for the 21st century rather than the 18th. Lifetime appointments, resulting in decadeslong terms, have increased the politicization of the court, resulting in a Supreme Court that is largely out of touch with the American people. The court’s 2022 Dobbs decision is case in point. Term limits would increase opportunities for each president to appoint justices, more closely tying the composition of the court to the outcome of elections. Congress has the authority to implement term limits for justices and should act immediately on this and the other recommendations the president proposed today to bring order to a badly out-of-control court.

• “The Need for Supreme Court Term Limits” by Maggie Jo Buchanan
• “Combining Ethics and Term Limits Strengthens Efforts To Rein in a Supreme Court Run Amok” by Devon Ombres, Jeevna Sheth, and Ben Olinsky