President Biden on Monday proposed major reforms to the Supreme Court, including limiting justices' terms to 18 years and a binding code of conduct.
Under Biden's term limits proposal, the president would appoint Supreme Court justices every two years. If this rule had been in place for the past 20 years and each justice had served their full 18-year term, the court's ideological division would be reversed, as shown in this chart.
The Supreme Court currently includes six conservative justices appointed by former Presidents Donald J. Trump, George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush, and three liberal justices appointed by Biden and former President Barack Obama. Three of the justices are conservatives and have served in the court for more than 18 years: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Justice Clarence Thomas.
If term limits had allowed presidents to select justices every two years under the last four administrations, those numbers would be reversed: six justices would have been appointed by Democratic presidents and three by Republican presidents.
Biden also proposed constitutional changes to challenge a Supreme Court decision this month that gave the president broad immunity from criminal prosecution. His three plans are unlikely to come to fruition soon: The reforms would require congressional approval, which is not expected from the Republican-controlled House and a divided Senate.
