Biden says he’s ‘not a fan of court packing’ as tensions grow over Barrett hearing
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he’s “not a fan of court packing” after facing criticism from Republicans for not answering the question.
“I’ve already spoken on — I’m not a fan of court packing, but I don’t want to get off on that whole issue. I want to keep focused,” Biden said in an interview with WKRC on Monday.
“The focus is why is he doing what he’s doing now? Why now with less than 24 days to go until the election?” he continued. “That’s the court packing...the public should be focused on.”
Biden said in an interview with KTNV last week that voters “don’t deserve” to know his position on increasing the number of justices on the high court. Democrats have proposed expanding the court after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a member of the court’s liberal wing, on Sept. 18 — and President Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.
If Barrett is confirmed, the court would shift to a 6-3 conservative majority, leaving some concerned about the future of legalized abortion, the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ rights and other issues that could come before the Supreme Court.
Congress has the power under the Constitution to add or take away seats from the Supreme Court, which has consisted of nine justices for more than 150 years. The number was last changed in 1869 to nine members and the most recent attempt was under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He introduced a bill to expand the court after winning the 1936 presidential election but it didn’t pass Congress.
Some Democrats are concerned that court packing could backfire and benefit Republicans later on. Biden said in 2019 that “we’ll live to rue that day” if there is court packing and the highest court “lose(s) all credibility,” Politico reported.
Democrats and Biden asked Senate Republicans to wait until after the election to fill Ginsburg’s seat, citing what happened in the run-up to the 2016 election.
In 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obama from appointing Merrick Garland to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat. Garland never received a confirmation hearing. At the time, McConnell said Scalia’s death, which happened Feb. 2016, was too close to an election and that voters should decide who fills the seat, leaving a vacancy for 10 months under Obama.
But now, less than a month from Election Day, McConnell has said that rule doesn’t apply this year because both the White House and Senate are controlled by the same party.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Biden says he’s ‘not a fan of court packing’ as tensions grow over Barrett hearing."