Democratic Senate candidates find themselves maneuvering around questions about the party’s threats to expand and pack the Supreme Court over President’s Trump’s plan to fill an open Supreme Court seat weeks before the election.
Some Democrats have said it’s necessary to expand the composition of the Supreme Court from nine, where it has stood since 1869, to around 11 justices. The idea is to dilute the 6-3 conservative majority expected on the bench once a replacement is confirmed for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday.
The change would only be enacted, possibly, if Democratic nominee Joe Biden beats President Trump and Democrats win a Senate majority. Republicans now have a 53-47 edge in the chamber. Legislation to expand the Supreme Court could only make it through the legislative process if Democrats eliminate the Senate filibuster, which effectively forces proposals to pass with support from 60 of the 100 senators.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has alluded to the court-packing and filibuster elimination ideas obliquely.
“Everything is on the table. My Senate Democratic colleagues and candidates know America needs some change, and we’re going to figure out the best way to do it,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday during a weekly press conference.
But some congressional Democrats have been more adamant about moving forward with the plans in early 2021, including Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler.
That has put some Democratic Senate candidates in a tight spot, under pressure from Republican criticisms of the filibuster and Supreme Court proposals.
The Denver Post on Tuesday attempted to get a response on court-packing from Colorado Democrat John Hickenlooper, the state’s former governor who is challenging Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in a tight race. However, Hickenlooper refused to give his stance.
“I’m not going to answer your question, just because I can’t believe they’re going to go through with this,” Hickenlooper said when asked if he thought his party should expand the court in response to Trump filling the vacant seat before the election.
Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst’s opponent, talked broadly about both issues at the Greater Des Moines Partnership forum but did not take firm stances on one particular side of either matter.
“I wouldn’t say that I have formed an opinion on that. But that’s certainly not high-priority for me, and it’s not something that Iowans are certainly talking about at this point in time,” Greenfield said of expanding the number of justices on the court. “They’re talking about healthcare. They know that healthcare is at stake at the Supreme Court.”
Greenfield’s spokesman, Sam Newton, later clarified in an email statement that she opposes expanding the high court, saying, in part, “No, she doesn’t (support adding more justices) and as Theresa said yesterday this is not a priority for Iowans who are worried about losing their health care if the lawsuit Joni Ernst supports is successful.”
Six other Democrats running for the Senate said that they did not support expanding the court, including Sara Gideon, a Maine Democrat running against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
“I’ll evaluate any proposals based on whether they’ll help us return the judiciary to an independent body free from politics,” Gideon said. “At this time, I have doubts that expanding the Supreme Court would do that.”
