While President Donald Trump put out a list of prospective Supreme Court justices even before the death of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Democratic nominee Joe Biden refuses to produce his own list, saying it’s “inappropriate.”
But Biden claims to have such a list — he just won’t tell anyone who’s on it.
“Should voters know? Should voters know who you’re going to appoint?” a reporter from WTMJ-TV in Wisconsin asked Biden on Monday.
“No, they don’t, but they will if I’m elected. They’ll have plenty of time,” Biden said.
Biden said it would be “inappropriate” for three reasons. One, current cases being overseen by judges he might name would be adversely affected. Two, prospective nominees would suddenly be thrust into the public eye “without any way to defend themselves.” And three, Biden said he doesn’t want to give Trump a chance to “change the subject.”
In another interview, this one with Action 2 News, Biden was asked if he would “consider adding more Supreme Court justices to the bench?”
“It’s a legitimate question, but let me tell you why I’m not going answer that question. Because it will shift the focus, that’s what [Trump] wants, he never wants to talk about the issue at hand and he always tries to change the subject. Let’s say I answer that question, then the whole debate’s going to be about what Biden said or didn’t say, Biden said he would or wouldn’t. The discussion should be about why he is moving in a direction that’s totally inconsistent with what the founders wanted,” he said.
“The Constitution says voters get to pick a president who gets to make the pick and the Senate gets to decide. We’re in the middle of the election right now, you know people are voting now. By the time this Supreme Court hearing would be held, if they hold one, it’s estimated 30% to 40% of American people will already have voted. It is a fundamental breach of constitutional principle. It must stay on that and it shouldn’t happen,” Biden said.
Trump’s reelection campaign, meanwhile, continues to push Biden to release a list of potential picks to the Supreme Court.
“President Trump has been completely transparent by releasing names he’s considering for the Supreme Court four times since 2016,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told Fox News.
“Now that Joe Biden has broken his promise to release his own list, what is he hiding?” Murtaugh continued. “We know he’s a tool of the radical left, so the only answer must be that he doesn’t want Americans to see the radical leftists he would appoint, with judicial histories littered with extremist rulings on issues like abortion, religious freedom, immigration, Second Amendment rights and government regulation.”
In June, Biden told reporters that he was “putting together a list of a group of African American women who are qualified and have the experience to be on the court.”
“I am not going to release that until we go further down the line in vetting them, as well,” Biden said at the time.