The war on the U.S. Supreme Court rages on. Now the unthinkable is on the horizon.
Because the U.S. Senate is preparing an insane takeover of the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Senate To Impose Term Limits On Supreme Court Justices?
Senators Joe Manchin (I-W.V.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced a proposal for a constitutional amendment aimed at instituting term limits for future U.S. Supreme Court justices. The amendment seeks to address the lack of constraints on the length of service for current justices, who serve for life under the U.S. Constitution’s provision that they “… shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour…”
Under the proposed amendment, justices would serve fixed 18-year terms, with new terms beginning every two years. However, the term limits would only apply to justices appointed after the amendment’s ratification. Current justices would retain the ability to serve for life, if they choose.
According to a press release from Manchin’s office, “The proposed amendment would not adjust the tenure of sitting Justices, but rather institute a transition period to maintain regular vacancies as current Justices retire. During that period, 18-year terms will begin every two years, regardless of when a current Justice leaves the bench. Once a current Justice retires, the newly appointed Justice will serve out the remainder of the next open 18-year term.” The amendment would not alter the total number of justices on the Court.
Senator Manchin, who has represented West Virginia in the Senate since 2010 and is not seeking re-election this year, expressed his pride in introducing the legislation alongside Senator Welch. He criticized the current lifetime appointment system, calling it “broken” and a factor in “polarizing confirmation battles and political posturing,” which he argues has eroded public trust in the Supreme Court.
“Our amendment maintains that there shall never be more than nine Justices and would gradually create regular vacancies on the Court, allowing the President to appoint a new Justice every two years with the advice and consent of the United States Senate,” Manchin said. He added that he hoped colleagues from both parties would support the proposal to “restore faith in our judicial system.”
The amendment also addresses the number of justices on the Supreme Court, specifying that the Court should consist of nine justices, a figure not currently mandated by the Constitution. As noted on the Supreme Court’s website, the Judiciary Act of 1869 fixed the number of justices at nine, and there have been no subsequent changes to this number.
Three of the current justices were appointed by former President Donald Trump, while only one was appointed by President Joe Biden. Senator Welch emphasized the urgency of the proposal, stating that “Setting term limits for Supreme Court Justices will cut down on political gamesmanship, and is commonsense reform supported by a majority of Americans.” He expressed his pride in leading the effort with Senator Manchin to help restore Americans’ faith in the judicial system.
Public Reaction: U.S. Senate Term Limits First
The general consensus from the American people on the issue of term limits is that U.S. Senators, and all Congress-members for that matter, need term limits first before they remotely think about imposing term limits on sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices. This is largely due to the fact that most Americans feel as though Congress is not doing their job while the U.S. Supreme Court is.
Mitch McConnell says there won’t be any recess appointments. It’s a good thing then that it isn’t up to him.
The next Congress should introduce term limits so people like him and Pelosi can retire instead of holding back change. pic.twitter.com/cc6ygVcNYX
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 18, 2024
The only reason those on the Left and so-called “centrists” like Joe Manchin want to reform the U.S. Supreme Court is because the Court has handed down a few rulings that have been a little more conservative than in years past. Roe v. Wade is probably the most significant of them all, and that one truly got the bee’s nest buzzing in rage.
The reality is the U.S. Supreme Court is doing their job. They are ruling on cases with fair, level-headedness and they are not letting huge judicial matters left unchecked. The job of the U.S. Supreme Court is to lead judicial matters for the entire country and clarify legal matters where lower courts have not been able to. You simply can’t say they haven’t been doing that just because you don’t like Roe v. Wade or the ruling striking down affirmative action.
Congress, on the other hand, has been sitting around with drool on their mouths because they haven’t been doing anything for the American people. Everyone knows it, it’s not like that’s a surprise. Congress is supposed to be balancing the U.S. budget but they haven’t been. Congress is supposed to be coming up with new legislation to address modern technological concerns but they haven’t been. Congress is supposed to be giving real oversight to government corruption but they certainly haven’t been. The job of Congress for the last thirty years or so has been abysmal.
So save the American people the lecture about how Justices need term limits. How about we start with U.S. Senators and U.S. House members first, yeah? Though you’ll never find Congress-members agreeing to that.
Be sure to stay tuned to the Conservative Column for more updates to this ongoing report.
