Why Biden likely won't take up calls to expand the Supreme Court
In response to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) plan to give President Trump's eventual nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a confirmation vote on the Senate floor, possibly before the November election, some Democrats are calling for former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, to threaten to pack, or expand, the high court.
As Jill Filipovich writes in The Washington Post, there is a belief that the GOP would be stealing a Supreme Court seat if enough lawmakers change their stance on whether a president should nominate a Supreme Court justice in an election year. McConnell and the Republican Senate, Filipovich writes, "have so repeatedly broken the rules, rigged the game, and stolen victories that it's become impossible to play on neutral turf," which is why she thinks Democrats should at least consider embracing the controversial tactic.
Filipovich notes the court hasn't always had nine members and suggests a Biden White House and Democratic-controlled Congress could sign and pass an act rather easily. But Biden has repeatedly said he's not in favor of the move because "we'll live to rue that day." Additionally, other analysts doubt court-packing will catch on with the majority of Democratic voters, and especially swing voters.
It's a little trickier for your Cal Cunninghams and Sara Gideons but this feels like an issue where Twitter is several steps ahead of the average D voter. Left-wing Dems will push the envelope, swing seat Ds won't go there.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 19, 2020
Indeed, there's even a sense that pushing for court expansion could backfire quickly.
The long McConnell game? Call the Dem bluff on court packing/filibuster repeal and go ahead with confirmation.
And what drives Rs to the polls isn’t the prospect of a sixth conservative justice but the fear of liberal blowing up legislative/judicial norms. https://t.co/eOQDDZtQ6x
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) September 19, 2020
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