Biden Remains Opposed to Court-Packing Despite Roe Reversal, White House Confirms
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
President Joe Biden does not support court packing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Saturday.
The press secretary clarified Biden’s position one day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, saying court-packing is something he “does not agree with.” The president’s opinion puts him at odds with far-left members of his party.
“So, I know I’ve… I was asked this question yesterday, and I’ve been asked it before — and I think the president himself … about expanding the court,” Jean-Pierre said on board of Air Force One. “That is something that the president does not agree with. That is not something that he wants to do.”
Biden has previously said he’s “not a fan” of court-packing while running for the presidency in 2020.
Prominent Democrats began advocating court-packing in earnest after President Trump appointed three justices to the Court, establishing an enduring conservative majority. The Court’s decision to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and overturn Roe prompted Democrats to raise their voices about the issue again.
“I ask my colleagues in the Senate what other judicial outrage must we endure from the illegitimate, far-right majority on the Supreme Court before we act? Fight back and expand the Court now,” Democratic Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey tweeted.
Democratic Georgia gubernational candidate Stacy Abrams agreed, saying “there’s nothing sacrosanct about nine members on the United States Supreme Court” on CNN’s State of the Union.
“I believe we need to get some confidence back in our court and that means we need more justices on the United States Supreme Court,” Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said on ABC News.
Democratic Representatives Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York also tweeted to expand the court. Ocasio-Cortez also called for the recently confirmed conservative justices to be impeached on Sunday, falsely accusing them of having lied about their intention to overturn Roe during their respective confirmation hearings.
Democratic members of Congress introduced a bill in 2021 to expand the court from nine to 13 justices, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would not bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
