Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Wants Supreme Court Overhaul; Immunity Ruling Has Odd Tie To Roe
President Joe Biden is set to call for major Supreme Court reforms Monday, according to a White House official, a move that would make him the first sitting president in generations to back seismic changes to the way the nation’s highest court operates. Biden’s election-year push comes amid deep unpopularity for the high court but stands little chance of going anywhere. He will call for a constitutional amendment stripping the president of immunity for crimes committed while in office, term limits for Supreme Court justices, and a binding code of conduct for the high court, the White House official said. (Graef, Benbrook, Fritze and Saenz, 7/29)
In the month since the Supreme Court granted former President Donald J. Trump substantial immunity from prosecution, a recurring critique of the decision has emerged. Lawyers and scholars say the ruling bears a striking resemblance to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion. They point to at least four features of the immunity decision that also figured in Roe, which was overturned in 2022 as “egregiously wrong” in a slashing majority opinion from Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. (Liptak, 7/29)
Representative Joseph Morelle of New York introduced a constitutional amendment Wednesday seeking to undo the court's landmark decision in Trump v. United States. The proposed constitutional amendment would provide that "there is no immunity from criminal prosecution for an act on the grounds that such act was within the constitutional authority or official duties of an individual." It would also prohibit a president from pardoning themselves. The proposal was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Morelle was joined by 49 other House Democrats. A constitutional amendment requires two-thirds vote in the House and Senate, plus ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. (Fung, 7/26)
The Supreme Court began the year poised to build on its 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and to deliver a new blow to abortion access. ... But over the next six months, sources told CNN, a combination of misgivings among key conservatives and rare leverage on the part of liberal justices changed the course of the case. (Biskupic, 7/29)
