Joe Biden Refuses To Rule Out Adding SCOTUS Justices: ‘Let Me Tell You Why I’m Not Going to Answer That Question’
Former Vice President Joe Biden pointedly refused to say whether he would consider adding Supreme Court justices if President Donald Trump and the Republican Senate push through a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day.
On Monday, Biden conducted several interviews with local media in Wisconsin, including with Brittany Schmidt of ABC affiliate WBAY’s Action 2 News. Schmidt asked Biden about the prospect of responding to a Trump pick by adding more justices to the court.
“If Trump’s Supreme Court pick goes through but you win the election, democrats take over Senate and maintain the House, would you consider adding more supreme court justices to the bench?” Schmidt asked.
“It’s a legitimate question, but let me tell you why I’m not going to answer that question,” Biden told Schmidt. “Because it will shift the focus, that’s what he wants, he never wants to talk about the issue at hand and he always tries to change the subject.:
“Let’s say I answer that question, then the whole debate’s gonna be about what Biden said or didn’t say, Biden said he would or wouldn’t,” he continued. “The discussion should be about why he is moving in a direction that’s totally inconsistent with what founders wanted.”
“The Constitution says voters get to pick a president who gets to make the pick and the Senate gets to decide. We’re in the middle of the election right now, you know, people are voting now. By the time this Supreme Court hearing would be held, if they hold one, it’s estimate 30 to 40% of the American people already have voted. It is a fundamental breach of constitutional principle. It must stay on that and it shouldn’t happen.”
Trump and most Senate Republicans have vowed to push through a nominee before Election Day, which has prompted discussion of a potential Democratic president and Senate responding by adding more justices to the court.
Biden’s refusal to answer is significant because in the past, he has repeatedly said he would not support adding justices, including at an October Democratic debate.
“I would not get into court packing. We add three justices; next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has at all,” Biden said at that time.
Watch the clip above via WBAY’s Action 2 News.
