Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Biden Addresses Idea of High Court Packing: 'I'm Not a Fan'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
October 13, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden says he is “not a fan” of adding seats to the Supreme Court, after weeks of avoiding questions about the idea that’s been pushed by progressives and used by Republicans to attack him.

“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,” the Democratic presidential nominee said in an interview Monday with Cincinnati’s WKRC.

Biden argued that the focus should remain on President Donald Trump and Republicans’ efforts to push through Amy Coney Barrett as a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the Nov. 3 election.

“That’s the court-packing the public should be focused on,” he said.

Biden has expressed opposition to the idea of expanding the Supreme Court before, but in recent weeks notably dodged multiple questions from the media about the proposal, insisting he would answer the question after the election. Pressure on Biden to respond intensified after his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, refused to answer the question during her debate with Vice President Mike Pence last week.

Biden Has Argued That the Proposal Is a Distraction From GOP Efforts to Push Through Ginsburg’s Replacement

Harris, however, expressed support for court-packing during her primary bid for president, along with a number of other progressive candidates. Faced with the prospect of a decades-long conservative majority on the court following Ginsburg’s death, the idea of adding seats to the nine-person court has gained renewed traction among Democrats.

That has Biden caught between the conflicting pressures of appeasing his progressive base and appealing to more moderate and conservative voters that may be open to voting for Biden but reluctant to support such sweeping structural reforms to the court. Biden, who spent years as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed opposition to court-packing throughout the Democratic primary.

“No, I’m not prepared to go on and try to pack the court, because we’ll live to rue that day,” he warned in an interview with a local Iowa political blogger last summer.

In dodging the question in recent weeks, Biden has argued that the proposal is a distraction from GOP efforts to push through Ginsburg’s replacement. But Republicans have seized on Biden’s refusal to answer as evidence he is being disingenuous and would be beholden to the Left on the issue if elected.

“Biden evades “Court Packing” question. @FoxNews Because his puppet masters are willing to destroy the U.S. Supreme Court. Don’t let this, and so many other really bad things, happen. VOTE!” Trump tweeted earlier this week.

DON'T MISS

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

DON'T MISS

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

DON'T MISS

Will Terance Frazier’s Nonprofit Exit Granite Park or Fight?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

DON'T MISS

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

DON'T MISS

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

DON'T MISS

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

DON'T MISS

Ramsey, Beckham Return to SoFi Stadium When the Struggling Dolphins Visit the Streaking Rams

DON'T MISS

San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Concedes to Levi Strauss Heir

DON'T MISS

FBI Thwarts Iranian Murder-for-Hire Plan Targeting Donald Trump

UP NEXT

San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Concedes to Levi Strauss Heir

UP NEXT

FBI Thwarts Iranian Murder-for-Hire Plan Targeting Donald Trump

UP NEXT

The Latest: House Remains in the Balance as World Reaction to Trump Victory Keeps Pouring In

UP NEXT

Wave of Racist Texts After Election Prompts FBI Scrutiny

UP NEXT

GOP Picks up Key House Seats While Democrats Say They Still Have a Path to a Majority

UP NEXT

Costa Expands Lead Over Maher, Richardson Holds Narrow Edge on Bonakdar

UP NEXT

Clovis’ Measure A and Sanger’s Measure M Get Good News with Thursday Vote Update

UP NEXT

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

UP NEXT

A Master of the Media Evolved Yet Again in 2024

UP NEXT

In Deep Blue California, Voters Don’t Always March to Dem Drums

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

3 hours ago

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

3 hours ago

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

4 hours ago

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

4 hours ago

Ramsey, Beckham Return to SoFi Stadium When the Struggling Dolphins Visit the Streaking Rams

4 hours ago

San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Concedes to Levi Strauss Heir

5 hours ago

FBI Thwarts Iranian Murder-for-Hire Plan Targeting Donald Trump

5 hours ago

Israeli Soccer Fans Were Attacked in Amsterdam. The Violence Was Condemned as Antisemitic

5 hours ago

Longtime Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw Is on the Mend After 2 Surgeries

5 hours ago

USDA Bans School Lunch Fees for Low-Income Families

5 hours ago

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

Following the results of Tuesday’s election, Jada Mevs, a 25-year-old living in Washington, D.C., is encouraging women to take action by sig...

33 mins ago

Following the results of Tuesday's election, Jada Mevs, a 25-year-old from Washington, D.C., is urging women to take action by signing up for self-defense classes, deleting dating apps, getting on birth control, and investing in vibrators, as part of a growing response to the election of Donald Trump for a second term and the failure of abortion rights referendums. (Shutterstock)
33 mins ago

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

2 hours ago

Homeowners’ Effort to Leave Sierra Unified Ends With County Ed Rejection

2 hours ago

Will Terance Frazier’s Nonprofit Exit Granite Park or Fight?

3 hours ago

Fresno Crash Sends Pickup Into Tree, Dark Tint Cited as Cause

3 hours ago

November Has Scattered Cool Temps, Rain Showers for Fresno

4 hours ago

Beyoncé Makes Grammy History With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Leading 2025 Nominations

4 hours ago

Macklin Celebrini, NHL’s Youngest Player, Scores on Marc-Andre Fleury, League’s Oldest

Rams
4 hours ago

Ramsey, Beckham Return to SoFi Stadium When the Struggling Dolphins Visit the Streaking Rams

Search

Send this to a friend