Biden attacks Israeli judiciary reform, then he & Democrats undermine US Supreme Court

In recent weeks, U.S. President Joe Biden called the Supreme Court ruling that he lacked the authority to waive student debt “wrong,” adding, “This fight is not over.” When the Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action in higher education is unconstitutional, Biden said, “This is not a normal court.” 

“We cannot let this decision be the last word. I want to emphasize: We cannot let this decision be the last word,” Biden added. Vice President Kamala Harris said another recent Supreme Court decision “threatens future progress.”

The Biden administration has often stated that “trust in our democracy and democratic institutions” is essential. “Toxic polarization is increasing across society and Americans’ trust in institutions and in one another is decreasing,” it stated in December 2021.

H.R.3422, the Judiciary Act of 2023, which seeks to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 12 judges, has drawn 63 signatures since it was introduced nearly two months ago. It and the way Biden and Democrats talk about the Supreme Court threaten democratic institutions more than does Israeli judicial reform, which Biden and his administration target frequently.

“Packing the U.S. Supreme Court would do far more to undermine the judiciary than the judicial reforms proposed by Israel,” Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard Law School professor emeritus and prominent litigator and commentator, told JNS.

‘Breathtaking’ usurpation

Zack Smith, a legal fellow and manager of the Supreme Court and appellate advocacy program at The Heritage Foundation, told JNS that the justices which former President Donald Trump appointed to the U.S. high court and the judicial reforms underway in Israel seek to return the systems to interpreting law as written.

“In Israel, the Supreme Court has usurped power to a breathtaking extent,” Smith said.