Biden tiptoes on ‘court packing’ to avoid lead in polls

Bloomberg

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spent weeks refusing to answer whether he would give in to liberals and agree to expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court, but when he finally responded, he left himself plenty of wiggle room. The answer — “I’m not a fan of court packing” — was open enough to give comfort to independents and Republicans who oppose the idea, without
angering progressives he needs to turn out to vote in some of the tighter battleground-state contests.
The Republican-led Senate is holding hearings over strong Democratic objections to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election. Barrett’s confirmation would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority for decades to come and has given new voice to demands to expand the court.
But Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have steadfastly refused to state their position on the issue, calling it a “distraction” from their opposition to the timing of nominating Barrett so close to the election and to Barrett herself.
And with Biden leading in national polls but facing tighter races in some key swing states, he is trying to hold on to his lead without making waves for the 20 days remaining.
After weeks of dodging the question, his answer came in a television interview in Ohio, a key battleground where he and Trump are essentially tied.
“I’ve already spoken on — 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 the focus — 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.” Nothing in the US Constitution
requires that the Supreme Court have nine seats.

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