Biden says he’s ‘not a fan’ of court packing

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Monday that he is “not a fan” of the idea of adding seats to the Supreme Court after repeatedly dodging questions about the issue.

“I’m not a fan of court packing, but I don’t want to get off on that whole issue. I want to keep focused,” Biden told WKRC, a Cincinnati-area CBS/CW affiliate. “The president would like nothing better than to fight about whether or not I would in fact pack the court or not pack the court, et cetera. The focus is, why is he doing what he’s doing now?”

The former vice president also described Republicans’ push to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court before November’s election as a form of court packing.

“Court packing’s going on now. Never before, when an election has already begun and millions of votes already cast, has it ever been that a Supreme Court nominee was put forward,” Biden said. “And one of the reasons is the only shot the American people get to determine who will be on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court or federal court is when they pick their senator or their president.”

Biden has previously called questions about his views on court packing a distraction, saying last week that “the moment I answer that question, the headline in every one of your papers will be on the answer to that question.”

Biden on Monday also discussed why his campaign was investing in Ohio, which President Trump won by about 8 points in 2016. The RealClearPolitics average of polling shows a statistical tie between Trump and Biden in the Buckeye State, with Biden 0.6 points ahead.

“If you win Ohio, the game’s over. Ohio and Florida are two very important states that Trump won significantly the last time,” he told WKRC. “Ohio I think is a toss-up right here, we plan on investing here.”