MSNBC host Joe Scarborough asked Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer on Monday why the Democrats couldn’t complete the work of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and “add a couple of justices” to the Supreme Court of the United States.
“Why can’t Democrats Constitutionally finish what FDR started back over 80 years ago and add a couple of justices in response to Republican radicalism?” Scarborough asked Schumer on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Roosevelt threatened to enlarge the Supreme Court when the body initially opposed his New Deal legislation.
“It’s Constitutional. And by [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell’s standard, you would be … in your right to do that, correct?” Scarborough asked. (RELATED: Democrats Threaten To Pack The Court If Republicans Nominate A Replacement For Ginsburg This Year)
Scarborough and Schumer were discussing the decision by President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate to move forward with the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant seat on the court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Scarborough suggested that Republican Kentucky Sen. McConnell was being hypocritical in supporting Barrett’s nomination when he refused to consider former President Barack Obama’s last nominee, Merrick Garland. Scarborough said at the time that McConnell was wrong to block Garland’s confirmation.
Schumer agreed with Scarborough: “We would certainly be in the Constitutional right to do it,” while accusing Barrett of planning “to take away” Americans’ health care and to “repeal Roe V. Wade,” the landmark court decision that legalized abortion in the United States.
The Democratic New York senator suggested that 71% of Americans are opposed to that repeal while also suggesting that confirming Barrett “could turn the court into something that would get rid of all labor unions [and] make America a right-to-work state … ”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Friday that he didn’t believe voters deserved to know what his position is on potentially packing the court.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden waves before traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, at New Castle County Airport Oct. 2, 2020 in New Castle, Delaware. Biden tested negative for the coronavirus this morning after getting the news that U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Despite frequent queries, the former vice president has repeatedly refused to state his position, suggesting the issue of packing the court is a Republican distraction and that he doesn’t want to “play the president’s game.” (RELATED: Here Are 7 Times Biden And Harris Have Refused To Say Where They Stand On Court Packing)
Although Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono called court packing “long overdue court reform,” Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has opposed the policy.