Biden will share his opinion on court packing 'when the election is over'
As Republicans prepare to add another conservative justice to the Supreme Court, some Democrats have suggested Joe Biden, if elected, should increase the size of court and pack it with liberal justices. But Biden and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris haven't revealed their positions on court packing yet, and Biden said Thursday he wouldn't until after the election.
"You'll know my opinion on court packing when the election is over," Biden told reporters during a Thursday campaign stop in Arizona. "It's a great question, and I don't blame you for asking. But you know, the moment I answer that question, the headline in every one of your papers will be on the answer" and not "focusing on what's happening now." The number of judges on the Supreme Court isn't specified in the Constitution, and could be increased with an act of Congress.
The "what's happening now" is presumably President Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court less than two months before Election Day. Democrats have opposed even considering a nominee until after the election, but Republicans have plowed ahead and have hearings scheduled for next week.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Will increasing tensions with Iran boil over into war?Today’s Big Question President Donald Trump has recently been threatening the country
-
Corruption: The spy sheikh and the presidentFeature Trump is at the center of another scandal
-
Putin’s shadow warFeature The Kremlin is waging a campaign of sabotage and subversion against Ukraine’s allies in the West
-
Rubio boosts Orbán ahead of Hungary electionSpeed Read Far-right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is facing a tough re-election fight after many years in power
-
Key Bangladesh election returns old guard to powerSpeed Read The Bangladesh Nationalist Party claimed a decisive victory
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
