by Jake Dima
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris dodged questions about whether or not her party would seek to add Supreme Court justices if Republicans were to confirm a justice before the November election.
“There should be consideration to adding seats to the U.S. Supreme Court,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said following the first presidential debate on Tuesday. “Neither you nor Joe Biden are willing to give a straight answer as to whether or not you’re willing to entertain that idea.”
Harris responded: “We are 35 days away from an election that is probably the most important election of our lifetime and our children’s lifetime, and there is nothing about these next 35 days that Joe or I will take for granted, and so the focus right now is on reminding people that we have this election that it is very much in play.”
At the end of the segment, Tapper said, “I will respectfully note you also declined to answer that question with me.”
Kamala Harris for the second time tonight refuses to directly answer a question about court-packing. She did not close the door on it, noting they can deal with it "later."
Tapper notes at the end that Harris dodged again. pic.twitter.com/0hCStWKZ4y
— Joe Gierut (@Joe_Gierut) September 30, 2020
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden avoided the question on the issue of court packing during Tuesday’s debate. “Whatever the position I take, that will be the issue,” Biden said to a question on adding justices. “I’m not going to answer that question because,” Biden said before he was cut off by President Donald Trump.
Joe Biden is asked if he would expand the size of the Supreme Court:
"Whatever the position I take, that will be the issue." pic.twitter.com/ZVKl2HYsrm
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 30, 2020
In another interview following the debate, Harris told CBS News’ John Dickerson that Biden’s answer was clear.
Dickerson called Biden’s answer to the Supreme Court question a “straight-up dodge” in an interview with Harris, asking why Biden “won’t talk about what he wants to do, what he thinks should happen?”
“He is very clear, John, which is that he is very focused as we all should be on the next 35 days,” Harris said.
CBS News’ John Dickerson calls out Democrat Sen. Kamala Harris for Joe Biden’s “straight up dodge” on packing the Supreme Court pic.twitter.com/ssTIaQx6Rq
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 30, 2020
Trump selected Amy Coney Barrett as his pick to replace former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18, and the Senate Republicans promised to hold a vote on her nomination, according to CNN.
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Jake Dima is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
