Biden begins launch of promised commission to 'reform' the Supreme Court



President Joe Biden has begun staffing his promised commission to "reform" the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, an undertaking he vowed in October would go on to address court packing as well as "a number of other things."

What are the details?

The commission — which is to be housed under the purview of the White House Counsel's office and chaired by Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer — "is indeed moving ahead [with] some members have already been selected," Politico reported Wednesday.

Those reportedly added to the commission so far include Cristina Rodríguez, a Yale Law School professor and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Obama Justice Department; Caroline Fredrickson, the former president of the American Constitution Society; and Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and a former assistant attorney general in the Bush Department of Justice.

Politico noted that while Rodríguez's opinions on court reforms are "less clear," Fredrickson, on the other hand, has been rather vocal about her support for ideas like court packing.

"I often point out to people who aren't lawyers that the Supreme Court is not defined as 'nine person body' in the Constitution, and it has changed size many times," she reportedly told Eric Lesh, the executive director of the LGBT Bar Association, in 2019.

Goldsmith, for what it's worth, may serve as a check on any radical progressive agenda. According to Politico, though he was not a Trump supporter, he did back Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination.

What's the background?

Back in October when Biden announced his intentions to launch the commission, he was embroiled in controversy due to his refusal to answer whether or not he would pack the Supreme Court in response to Justice Amy Coney Barrett's nomination.

"It's not about court packing," Biden claimed regarding the forthcoming commission during a "60 Minutes" interview. "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 go well beyond packing," he 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."

Whether or not adding seats to the Supreme Court will come as a result of the commission remains to be seen, but conservatives may still be concerned over its formulation in the first place.

As Hot Air's Ed Morrissey aptly points out, despite Biden's insistence that the commission will be bipartisan, "there's only party demanding changes to the top court's structure" — and it's not the Republican Party.

Joe Biden says commission to 'reform' Supreme Court will go 'well beyond' court packing



During a yet-to-be-aired "60 Minutes" interview, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced that, if elected in November, he would establish a commission to reform the Supreme Court — and changes to be considered would go "well beyond" just court packing.

"If elected, what I will do is I'll put together a national commission of, a bipartisan commission of scholars, constitutional scholars, Democrats, Republicans, liberal, conservative. 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," Biden said in a clip from the interview posted to Twitter Thursday.

"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," he added.

"There's a number of alternatives that go well beyond packing," he indicated. "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."

Watch more of @NorahODonnell's interview with Joe Biden, Sunday. https://t.co/wJmb8MatVg
— 60 Minutes (@60 Minutes)1603365014.0

It was not immediately clear to what "alternatives" Biden was referring to, and it's doubtful that the candidate will disclose them before the election, anyhow.

The comments are likely to stir up more controversy around the issue as Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have been purposefully tightlipped about their intentions, refusing to indicate whether they would add seats to the court in response to Judge Amy Coney Barrett's expected confirmation to the Supreme Court.

At one point earlier this month, Biden even snapped after being asked about his intentions and amazingly stated that voters don't deserve to know his stance on the issue before the election.

Then last week, when pressed on the issue once again, Biden hinted that he's "not a fan" of court packing but still refused to give a clear answer on the issue.

TheBlaze noted in a recent report that any attempt to grow the Supreme Court will need to go through Congress first, and thus a number of moderate Democrats, especially in the Senate, would need to be convinced.

That effort may prove to be particularly difficult since a majority of Americans — 58% — still oppose court packing, according to a recent poll conducted by the New York Times.

Biden, under pressure, admits he's 'not a fan' of court-packing — but doesn't say he won't do it



Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden admitted Monday that he is "not a fan" of court-packing (adding seats to the Supreme Court) but did not go further about whether he plans to do so should he be elected president in November.

"I'm not a fan of court packing, but I don't want to get off on that whole issue. I want to keep focused," Biden told WKRC-TV. "The president would like nothing better than to fight about whether or not I would in fact pack the court or not pack the court, etc. The focus is, why is he doing what he's doing now?"

The former vice president made the comments after he was pressed once again on the issue while campaigning in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have refused for weeks to clearly state their intentions on the matter.

WKRC-TV reporter Kyle Inskeep spurred Biden into answering on the matter by asking the candidate what he would say to undecided voters who would like to know his intentions about packing the court prior to the election.

In his response, Biden also attempted to transfer the heat onto his political opponents by suggesting that President Trump and Republicans are the ones who are actually court-packing by attempting to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

"What I want them to focus on, [what] I'd respectfully suggest, is that court-packing is going on now," Biden said. "Never before, when an election has already begun and millions of votes are already cast, has it ever been that a Supreme Court nominee is put forward."

"One of the reasons is the only shot the American people get to determine who will be on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court or federal court is when they pick their senator or their president," he continued.

Biden has previously described questions about his position on court-packing as a distraction, suggesting that "the moment I answer that question, the headline in every one of your papers will be on the answer to that question."

Last week, Biden appeared to snap when a reporter in Las Vegas suggested that "voters deserve to know" his position on court-packing.

"No, they don't," an irritated Biden shot back. "I'm not gonna play [Trump's] game. He'd love me to talk about, and I've already said something on court-packing, he'd love that to be the discussion instead of what he's doing now."