Politics

Sen. Chuck Grassley Explains How He Thinks Democrats Will Pack The Courts If Biden Is Elected

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Henry Rodgers Chief National Correspondent
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Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley slammed Democrats for threatening to pack the supreme court by adding additional seats ahead of Monday’s hearing with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

In an interview with “Fox & Friends,” Grassley was asked about Democrats like Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, who have floated the idea of packing the court or adding more seats to the court. Grassley said Democrats want to add up to five seats on the Supreme Court, making the total number of justices 13.

“What we’re doing is what’s been done every time there’s a vacancy on the Supreme Court. The constitution — the Senate does its constitutional responsibility of considering that nominee and that’s what we’re doing now in the case of Barrett. What Senator Coons and other Democrats — and particularly, Senator Biden — don’t want you to believe is what’s in the Democratic platform that they are going to add seats,” Grassley said.

“We have had nine seats for 150 years and there’s never been more than nine seats. What they want to do is put 10, 11, 12, and maybe up to 13 seats on the Supreme Court so they can put four liberals on the Supreme Court so that they’ll have a majority. And so, that the court can once again become a super-legislature. The type of people that have been put on the court recently are the ones who believe that the courts should just interpret law and the Constitution and not stretch the Constitution beyond original intent,” he continued.

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“Democrats don’t like that because what they can’t get through the Congress, they can go to the court and get it done. And so packing the Supreme Court is not filling a vacancy, packing the Supreme Court is adding a 10th, 11th, 12th, or 13th seat,” Grassley said.

He then went on to criticize Biden for claiming to be a moderate candidate, mentioning Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and progressives. (RELATED: ‘No Low They Won’t Stoop To’: Chuck Grassley Criticizes Democratic ‘Crusade’ To Tarnish Supreme Court Nominees)

“I think you have to consider them very real considering how Biden, who was kind of a middle-of-the-road person for the 47 years he was in the United States Senate and then vice president and now running for presidency, he had to compromise with Sanders and the progressives to get the nomination. And so he’s beholden to them and they’re going to make sure he does it. And then, when you do away with the filibuster in the United States Senate and you don’t have to force bipartisanship anymore, they will ram all those things through,” Grassley said.

“It will very dramatically change the federal system of government where we divide things between Washington and the states. And it will also compromise the checks and balances of government giving — making the Supreme Court a political body instead of a judicial body,” he continued. (RELATED: Sens. Grassley, Ernst Promise To ‘Evaluate’ Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee: ‘Senate Democrats Wouldn’t Hesitate’)

The Senate Judiciary Committee began their confirmation hearing Monday and hope to vote to confirm Barrett before the November elections.