Joe Biden said that he would not release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees like President Trump has, arguing the rejection of nomination norms could politicize the court and subject those on the list to unnecessary attacks.
“We can’t ignore the cherished system of checks and balances. That includes this whole business of releasing a list of potential nominees that I would put forward,” the former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee said in a speech from Philadelphia addressing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and Trump’s push to nominate a replacement Supreme Court justice before the election.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, during which time there was a vacant Supreme Court seat due to Justice Antonin Scalia dying that February, Trump released a list of individuals whom he would pick from for Supreme Court nominations, the first time a candidate or president singled out individuals in that way. He added to the list earlier this month.
“It’s no wonder they ask that I release the list only after she passed away. It is a game for them. It is a play to gin up emotions and anger. There’s a reason why no other candidate than President Trump has ever done such a thing,” Biden said.
Contrary to Biden’s claim, Trump’s campaign did criticize him for not releasing a list of potential Supreme Court justices before Ginsburg’s death on Friday.
Biden laid out three reasons why he would not release a list.
“First, putting a judge’s name on a list like that could influence that person’s decision making as a judge, and that would be wrong — or at least create the perception it would influence,” Biden said. “Second, anyone put on a list like that under these circumstances will be subject to unrelenting political attacks, because any nominee I select would not get a hearing until 2021 at the earliest. She would endure those attacks for months on errand without being able to defend herself.”
Biden continued: “Thirdly and finally, perhaps most importantly, if I win, I’ll make my choice for the Supreme Court not based on a partisan election campaign, but on what prior presidents have done, Republican and Democrats, and I have served with them. Only after consulting Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate, and seeking their advice and asking for their consent — it says ‘advise and consent the Senate.'”
Biden has pledged to nominate a black woman to the Court.
In June, Biden appeared to indicate that he may release a list of potential picks.
“We are putting together a list of a group of African American women who are qualified and have the experience to be on the court,” Biden told reporters. “I am not going to release that until we go further down the line in vetting them, as well.”
