Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he would appoint a commission to recommend Supreme Court reforms in an interview with “60 Minutes.”
Biden has repeatedly avoided saying whether he would support “court packing,” or expanding the Supreme Court if Republicans confirm Amy Coney Barrett as expected.
"If elected, what I will do is I'll put together a national commission of — bipartisan commission of scholars, constitutional scholars, Democrats, Republicans, liberal, conservative,” Biden told interviewer Norah O’Donnell. “And I will ask them to over 180 days come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it's getting out of whack — the way in which it's being handled and it's not about court packing. There's a number of other things that our constitutional scholars have debated and I've looked to see what recommendations that commission might make."
Biden floats “alternatives” to court packing:
"There's a number of alternatives that are — go well beyond packing,” the former vice president added. “The last thing we need to do is turn the Supreme Court into just a political football, whoever has the most votes gets whatever they want. Presidents come and go. Supreme Court justices stay for generations."
Biden previously said he was “not a fan” of court packing and warned that Republicans could simply add more justices if they win back Congress and the White House.
Progressives want Biden to go further:
While Republicans have repeatedly slammed Biden for purportedly supporting court-packing, progressive groups have called for him to take a stronger stand in favor of the idea.
“In recent weeks, Vice President Biden has gone farther than ever before to discuss the need to reform our Supreme Court, and that has been very encouraging," the left-leaning group Demand Justice said in a statement. "But the Republicans’ decision to plow forward with Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination in the midst of a national election requires a more urgent response than a study that will take 180 days to complete. We certainly do not need a commission to tell us that Republicans are on the verge of stealing their second Supreme Court seat in four years[.]"
