Civil rights must be protected and expanded, President Joe Biden said Monday during his keynote address at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
“In a Great Society no one should be left behind,” Biden said in his address. “It is time for us to come and see that every American gets a decent break and a fair chance to make good.”
The president’s remarks come just after he released a series of reforms for the U.S. Supreme Court. The administration’s proposal includes an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices. Additionally, the administration proposed a constitutional amendment restricting the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that granted presidents broad immunity for official acts and for Congress to pass a code of ethics for Justices, strengthening the current code enforced by the court itself.
“I share our Founders’ belief that a president must answer to the law, (that) the president is accountable for the exercise of the great power of the presidency,” Biden said. “We’re a nation of laws, not kings and dictators.”
Earlier this month, Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election and endorsed his current Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination.
After an almost half-hour delay, a commemorative short film featuring past presidents who delivered addresses at the library, two musical performances, a dramatic reading from actor Bryan Cranston, who portrayed Johnson twice in his career and Mark K. Updegrove, the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, preceded the keynote address. U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young introduced the President.
“Few people have been able to thrive and succeed in the midst of so much pressure and tension and responsibility as (President) Joe Biden,” said Young, a former congressman and early civil rights activist.
Biden further detailed his Supreme Court reforms and responded to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said these proposals would be “dead on arrival in the House.”
He criticized Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan for a conservative presidency and the Supreme Court case granting a president absolute immunity from prosecution for what are deemed criminal acts made within official presidential duties.
During his speech, pro-Palestine organizations formed a caravan protesting Biden’s visit. Austin for Palestine organizer Zainab Haider said the organization holds “President Biden responsible for enabling the genocide that’s happening in Palestine right now.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the administration has sided with Israel and moved forward with an almost $1 billion arms sale to Israel in May, according to the Associated Press.
The president’s remarks ended with Biden reminiscing on the early days of his career. He recounted joining the public defender’s office in his home state of Delaware through his first election to the U.S. Senate in 1972 and cited the Civil Rights movement as a key factor in joining the public defender’s office.
“We can and must (protect) and expand our civil rights in America,” Biden said. “We can and must prevent the abuse of presidential power and restore faith in the Supreme Court.”
