Seven in 10 Republicans say they support President Joe Biden's proposal for establishing a binding code of conduct for Supreme Court justices, according to a new poll.
Smaller majorities of GOP voters say they back the enacting of a Constitutional amendment to make clear that no person is above the law (54%), and imposing term limits of a single 18-year term for justices (51%), the USA Today/Ipsos survey found.
Expanding the number of Supreme Court justices – not among Biden's proposals – remains largely unpopular, with little more than one in three people supporting the move. Few Republicans (20%) and independents (40%) back the court's expansion, though a majority of Democrats do (62%).
Overall, 76% of Americans, including 89% of Democrats, and 75% of independents say they support a code of conduct for justices.
Respondents were told a binding code of conduct for justices would require disclosure of gifts, prohibit involvement in political activity, and mandate recusal from cases involving conflicts of interest for themselves or their spouses.
Asked whether they thought Supreme Court justices rule mainly on the basis of the law or mainly on the basis of their partisan political views, 46% say the justices decide cases based on political views and 29% say they decide cases based on the law; 23% say they don't know.
Regarding the high court's ruling determining U.S. presidents have some immunity from prosecution, 46% say the decision is a major threat to democracy; 27% say it's a minor threat, and 23% say it's not a threat at all.
While most Americans say they are familiar with the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade (81%) and the presidential immunity ruling (64%), fewer say they're aware of Biden's Supreme Court reform proposals (49%), the USA Today/Ipsos results showed.
A total of 81% of respondents say nominations to the Supreme Court will be important for how they are planning to vote in the presidential election in November.
More than four in five (84%) Americans say they believe the presidential election will have a major impact on the future of the Supreme Court, the poll found.
The USA Today/Ipsos poll was conducted Aug. 2-4 among 1,024 respondents, including 282 Republicans, 324 Democrats, and 310 independents. The margin of error for all respondents is 3.2 percentage points.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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