Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had a laugh when Amy McGrath, his Democratic challenger, jabbed at him for allowing the Senate to go on recess in August instead of working on legislation to address COVID-19.
Biden Says Amid Hurried Barrett Hearing: ‘Court Packing Is Going On Now’
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who for weeks has avoided saying whether he supports expanding the Supreme Court, said Monday that he is “not a fan” of expanding the number of seats on the Supreme Court.
“I’m not a fan of court-packing. But I don’t want to get off on that whole issue,” Biden said in an interview with WKRC TV in Cincinnati. “I want to keep focused.”
Biden suggested that President Trump “would love nothing better than to fight about whether or not I would in fact pack the court or not pack the court.” But criticized his opponent for pushing to confirm conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett so close to the election which is now just weeks away.
The comments come as Republicans continue to press Biden to assume a position publicly on the issue of adding seats to the court — a proposal put forward by some Democrats who have suggested it might be their best chance to secure a left-leaning court if the conservative Trump pick is confirmed.
The Democratic nominee has openly challenged a Republican push to fill the seat left vacant by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, sharing the view of Democratic colleagues who have said that whoever wins the presidential race in November should select a nominee for the high court.
Biden has been less clear about whether or not he supports expanding the court.
“He’s refusing to answer about whether he’s going to pack the Supreme Court, upending 150 years of our judicial standards,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told CBS’ Face The Nation on Sunday.
Per the Washington Post, Biden had previously suggested expanding the court was “a bad idea” in August 2019 during an Iowa trip, saying, “it will come back to bite us. It should not be a political football.”
His remarks on Monday while not declarative, appeared to show skepticism if not opposition to expanding the number of Supreme Court justices as president.
The Democratic nominee pointed the finger back at Republicans for their rush to fill the court.
“Court packing is going on now,” Biden said on Monday. “Never before, when an election has already begun and millions of votes already cast, has it ever been that a Supreme Court nominee was put forward.”
Scientists Confirm COVID Reinfection Case As Trump Baselessly Claims To Be Immune
President Donald Trump keeps claiming without evidence that he is now immune to COVID-19 after having been diagnosed with it less than two weeks ago, but scientists confirmed on Monday that there has been at least one case of reinfection in the U.S.
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More Retirements?
I don’t think TPM Reader PT’s prediction here is at all likely. John Roberts is a conservative ideologue and holds the pinnacle position in the world of jurisprudence. Why he’d surrender that plum as a relatively young man isn’t at all clear to me. Still, I found PT’s discussion of the different equities in play quite perceptive and interesting.
I’ve argued before that I think it’s at least plausible that John Roberts will retire during Biden’s first term. My argument is that Roberts appears to be the only one of the Court’s conservatives who cares at all about the legacy and perceived legitimacy of the Supreme Court, both of which were badly damaged by the way that Neil Gorsuch ascended to his seat. Of course, there were cross-pressures for him: he clearly cares about the conservative project of wielding power through an unelected Court that in practice can only rarely be overruled, he presumably likes being on the Court and being Chief Justice, and by Washington DC standards he is fairly young (mid-60’s).
Now, however, I think that the near-certain ascent of Barrett to fill Ginsburg’s seat will change the calculus and makes it more likely that he will retire.
Eric Trump Ditches Gun Store Stop Where Alleged Guv Kidnapping Plotter Used To Work
Eric Trump will no longer visit a gun store that used to employ a man now accused of plotting the kidnapping of the governor of Michigan, the gun store’s owner said.
Big Turnout As Early In-Person Voting Starts In Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — The chance to cast ballots on Georgia’s first day of in-person early voting Monday had thousands of people waiting for hours to make their voices heard.
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Democrats Coalesce Behind Central Argument At Barrett Hearing: The ACA Is In Peril
Flanked by blown-up pictures of people whose health would be in dire straits without the Affordable Care Act, Democratic senators stayed on message at Monday’s hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
As They Rush Through Another SCOTUS Nom, GOPers Play Up ‘Court Packing’ Hysteria
As they rushed to pack their own nominee onto the Supreme Court with just days to go before Election Day, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday just couldn’t stop talking about some Democrats’ stated openness to adding more justices to the court.
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Efforts To Make Pandemic Voting Easier Run Into A SCOTUS Buzzsaw
Voting rights advocates are getting a little help from the Supreme Court in their efforts to make voting easier in the pandemic. A Supreme Court order Monday night reinstating South Carolina’s absentee ballot witness requirement was the latest example of the justices reversing lower court moves to open up voting because of the pandemic. A silver lining for voters is that a Supreme Court majority at least allowed the ballots that have already been submitted sans witnesses to be counted — the three farthest right members of the court indicated they would have thrown those ballots out.
WH Chief Meadows Throws Tantrum, Walks Away After Reporter Asks Him To Wear A Mask
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Monday walked away from reporters who objected to him taking off his mask before speaking to them.