Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is proposing creating a commission that would study reforming the Supreme Court.
Biden said during a CBS “60 Minutes” interview this week, which will air in full on Sunday, “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.”
The former vice president said he would have the commission to report back to him after 180 days “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.”
He added that it is “not about court packing,” adding, “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.”
See Biden’s comments below:
Watch more of @NorahODonnell's interview with Joe Biden, Sunday. pic.twitter.com/wJmb8MatVg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 22, 2020
CBS’ Norah O’Donnell then pressed Biden on court packing.
Asked if he is going to “study the issue about whether to pack the court,” Biden responded, “No, there’s a number of alternatives that go well beyond packing.”
When asked if it is “a live ball,” Biden said, “Oh it is a live ball…we’re going to have to do that.”
“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,” Biden added. “Presidents come and go. Supreme Court justices stay for generations.”
Biden’s comments came shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance — with zero votes from Democrats — Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination on Thursday. The full Senate is expected to vote on her confirmation Monday. If confirmed, it would make a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
