Biden speaks at LBJ Presidential Library to commemorate Civil Rights Act

Biden announces his Supreme Court reform plans

President Biden spoke in Austin, Texas on Monday afternoon about his recently proposed plans to reform the Supreme Court, including ethics enforcement rules, term limits and other reforms.

President Joe Biden spoke on Monday at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.

Biden, who has less than six months left in his presidency, detailed the contours of his court proposal and called for dramatic changes in the court that have little chance of being approved by a closely divided Congress with 99 days to go before Election Day.

Still, Democrats hope it'll help focus voters as they consider their choices in a tight election. The likely Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has sought to frame her race against Republican ex-President Donald Trump as "a choice between freedom and chaos," quickly endorsed the Biden proposal.

"Extremism is undermining the public confidence in the court’s decisions," Biden said. He added, "We can and must prevent abuse of presidential power and restore faith in the Supreme Court."

Biden was originally scheduled to speak on July 15 but had to cancel because he got COVID-19.

A lot has changed for Biden in the past two weeks after he dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 amid pressure from many Democrats and donors to exit the election. The commander-in-chief later explained that his decision to leave the race was motivated by the need to unite his party to protect democracy.

FILE-President Joe Biden speaks at a post-debate campaign rally on June 28, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

The Associated Press reported that no American incumbent president has dropped out of the race this late in the process the way Biden did, a move that has drawn comparisons to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who said he wouldn’t seek reelection in 1968.

Johnson and Biden faced pressure from within their party to step aside, and both presidents were lauded for doing it.

Biden is also scheduled to travel to Houston later Monday to pay his respects to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died at age 74 on July 19.

What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, one of the most important civil rights achievements in the nation’s history, the AP noted.

The law made it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended school, work, and public facility discrimination, and barred unequal application of voter registration requirements.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.

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