Joe Biden told CBS' "60 Minutes" this week that, if elected, he would put together a bipartisan commission to study the federal court system and make recommendations for reform.
Why it matters: Biden has come under pressure to clarify his position on court packing after some Democrats suggested expanding the court if Senate Republicans confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
What he's saying: "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 "60 Minutes" in an interview conducted on Monday.
"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."
"There's a number of alternatives that are — go well beyond packing. ... 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."
Between the lines: Biden had previously opposed court packing during the Democratic primaries, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death and Barrett's nomination re-energized support for the idea among progressives.
bigdirkmalone on October 22nd, 2020 at 13:32 UTC »
Bipartisan. This is why Democrats always lose because they don't even play the game and don't even acknowledge the game exists.
vverr on October 22nd, 2020 at 12:46 UTC »
He should be talking about the way the minority party has been packing the courts for the last 4 years.
Edit: 4 years
TheeHeadAche on October 22nd, 2020 at 12:27 UTC »
He should also set up a commission reviewing all the judges 45 put in place.