KTXL: Sen. Alex Padilla: Supreme Court losing credibility, 18-year terms would provide ‘stability’
By Jacque Porter
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) says he backs reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court recently proposed by President Joe Biden to restore its credibility.
The senator from California said a string of scandals have caused people to lose faith in the country’s highest court.
“When you hear story after story of Supreme Court Justices taking gifts, private charter plane to travel around the world with billionaires who have cases and interests before the Supreme Court, there’s clearly a conflict and there’s clearly been no consequences,” Padilla said. “So it’s no wonder so many have lost faith in the Supreme Court.”
The proposal includes limiting justices to 18-year terms and imposing an actionable code of ethics.
“It brings predictability and a consistent schedule for new justices to be considered by the Senate for confirmation,” Padilla said. “I think it’s the right balance of new blood every 18, that’s almost every 20 years with the stability the Supreme Court needs to be able to make its decision and make sure they’re sustainably respected.”
Paddila expressed confidence in fellow Californian and longtime colleague Vice President Kamala Harris’s ability to win the election.
“Having seen her work for years and years and years in San Francisco as the DA, as the Attorney General for California, as a US Senator representing California and now the last two and a half years as Vice President, I think the rest of the country is seeing what those of us in California have known for a long time,” Padilla said. “She’s energetic, she’s bright, she’s forward-thinking and she is tough.”
He rejects the idea that Harris making the rest of the country a little more like California would be a bad thing.
“California by no means is perfect but we’re the most populous state in the nation, the most diverse state in the nation, the strongest economy of every state in the nation,” Padilla said. “We’re the leader on access to healthcare, tackling climate change, embracing immigrants and being stronger for it. That is a vision of hope, a vision of the future of the United States of America and it scares the daylights out of Donald Trump.”
Padilla recently took a trip to France to prepare for the upcoming Olympic games in his home state.
“We are hosting the Olympics in Los Angeles in four short years in 2028 so a lot of meetings and discussions and note-taking as it pertains to transportation,” Padilla said. “You saw the public transit system disrupted before the opening games even happened last Friday. A lot of note-taking when it comes to security. The security perimeters and logistics that were established to ensure the safety of not just the viewers but the athletes in the Olympics.”
The senator says Los Angeles is a great place for the games.
“The spirit of the Olympics is palpable, one that Los Angeles knows for those who remember 1984 and we’re so looking forward to welcoming the world to Los Angeles,” Padilla said. “[The city is] really a microcosm of the world. So many of our residents who have come from or their parents have come from all corners of the world. Couldn’t have picked a more perfect venue.”
Read the article and watch the full interview here.