Dem
51
GOP
49
Joe Biden will enjoy access to the bully pulpit for another 5 months or so. And one thing he's been using it for is to call for reform of the Supreme Court. There is no doubt that Democrats think that the Court is badly broken, and that the nine oligarchs... er, justices need to be reined in. As it turns out, according to the newest poll from USA Today/Ipsos, a majority of Republicans are also in agreement with Biden's thinking on the matter.
Biden made three specific suggestions. Here's how they poll with various partisan groups:
| Proposal | Dem. | Rep. | Ind. | Overall |
| Binding Code of Conduct for SCOTUS Justices | 89% | 70% | 75% | 76% |
| Constitutional Amendment, President Not "Above the Law" | 89% | 54% | 72% | 70% |
| Term Limits for SCOTUS Justices | 83% | 51% | 61% | 63% |
The pollster also asked about expanding the Court from 9 to 15 justices, something Biden has NOT endorsed. That possibility turns out to be rather less popular. Although 62% of Democrats are on board, only 20% of Republicans and 40% of independents like the idea, resulting in an overall figure of 38%. It's not impossible that such a thing could get through Congress with just Democratic votes, but only if the blue team has the trifecta and also kills the filibuster.
In any event, the response to Biden's actual proposal suggests two things. First, a political party wants to run on policy ideas that are popular with the rank-and-file, and that also appeal to some voters outside the party. Supreme Court reform is clearly one of those (and abortion access, of course, is another). Second, we've written many times that if the Court pushes its luck too far, it risks backlash and substantive change. It looks like that process is well underway and that, at very least, a binding code of conduct with actual teeth is in the Court's immediate future. Clarence Thomas better get in his luxury vacations while the gettin's good. (Z)