Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey tweeted his support for expanding the Supreme Court, saying it “must” be done.
“We must expand the Supreme Court,” Markey tweeted Monday.
We must expand the Supreme Court.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) October 26, 2020
The Senate Democrat has previously said he would vote to expand the court if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court.
“It portends to be one of the most consequential nominations in the history of the United States. I will do everything in my power to block the nomination being confirmed of Amy Coney Barrett,” Markey said at the end of September.
“If the Republicans [are] successful in jamming it through, I will vote next year to end the filibuster so we can expand the Supreme Court to get back the seats which have been stolen by the Republicans over the last four years.”
Senate Republicans voted Sunday to advance Barrett through the final stages of the confirmation process. She is expected to be sworn in later Monday, with President Trump saying the White House is preparing for a “very nice event.”
“We’re going to see [an event] probably at the White House later on this evening,” Trump said.
The question of court-packing has been a focal point of the 2020 election cycle after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and Barrett’s nomination.
The press has repeatedly asked Joe Biden where he stands on the issue, with the former vice president repeatedly dodging the question. He said last week, however, he would establish a commission to help decide how to reform the court system.
“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,” Biden said during a 60 Minutes interview. “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 which has been handled.”
“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.
Biden has also previously said that he doesn’t like the idea of court-packing but that it “depends on how much they rush” Barrett’s confirmation.
