Biden to speak on civil rights, Supreme Court proposals at LBJ Presidential Library
Written by ABC AUDIO on July 29, 2024
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday will visit the LBJ Presidential Library to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and give remarks on his new proposals to reform the U.S. Supreme Court.
The remarks, slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, will be Biden’s first major speech since his Oval Office address last week on his decision to exit the 2024 race.
In Austin, he will discuss his administration’s work to protect civil rights and his calls for reforms to the nation’s highest court, including term limits and an enforceable code of conduct for justices as well as a constitutional amendment against presidential immunity.
The setting for Monday’s remarks is also significant, as Biden is the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson to not seek a second term.
In stepping away from the campaign trail, Biden’s focus is now shifted to how to “finish the job” in the final few months of his presidency and cement the legacy of his decades-long political career.
“The president is focused like a laser beam on making sure that the next six months matter to the American people,” Stephen Benjamin, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, told reporters on Monday. “He is soliciting the ideas and thoughts of the best and brightest people in this administration, but also from across the country, asking people, ‘What is left undone, what else do we need to work to secure?'”
Benjamin said he expects the president to continue to work on accountability for the Supreme Court, fortifying the economy, lowering prices for American families and more.
But Republicans in Congress signaled they are ready to challenge Biden’s agenda.
House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the proposed Supreme Court reforms, which Biden is floating after several court controversies this term, as “dangerous” and said they are “dead on arrival in the House.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also argued in floor remarks that the administration is pushing for reform because they don’t agree politically with the court’s recent decisions.
“Why is the Biden Harris administration so willing to put the crown jewel of our system of government, the independent judiciary, to the torch? Because it stands in their way,” McConnell said.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
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