House Dems Try to Put Election Focus on Supreme Court

House Democrats want to deflect attention concerning President Joe Biden’s cognitive ability to the Supreme Court, Axios reported.

With some party members and donors calling for Biden to step aside following a disastrous debate performance and allow someone else to become the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, House Democrats are trying to put voters’ focus on the high court.

Democrats are furious that the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that former presidents have some immunity from prosecution, extending the delay in the Washington criminal case against Donald Trump on charges he plotted to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss and all but ending prospects the former president could be tried before the November election.

"This election is no longer about choosing a president. It's about choosing whether to keep our democracy or end it," Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., told Axios of the immunity decision.

"This decision by the Supreme Court today is a travesty and perhaps the most dangerous judicial opinion from our Supreme Court in generations," Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., told The Hill.

When recent Supreme Court decisions have gone against what Democrats want — most notably, the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the abortion issue to the states — they've promoted court reform measures such as ethics rules, term limits and expanding the bench.

One House member, Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., plans to introduce a constitutional amendment to reverse the high court’s decision on presidential immunity.

Axios reported Thursday that House Democrats' whip meeting next week will feature a "special guest," Georgetown University law professor Steve Vladeck.

Vladeck will discuss "understanding the impact of the Supreme Court's recent rulings," according to an invitation to the Wednesday gathering to be hosted by House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass.

Whether House Democrats can change the election narrative from Biden’s status to the Supreme Court remains uncertain.

Since last week's debate, media national political coverage has been consumed by stories about Biden’s cognitive ability and whether he will be replaced atop the Democratic Party’s national ticket in November.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has received a bump in national election polling since the debate.

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