by Chuck Ross
Democratic senate candidate Raphael Warnock refused to say during a debate Sunday whether he supports “court packing,” or adding seats to the Supreme Court.
“As I move all across the state … people aren’t asking me about the courts and whether we should expand the courts,” Warnock said at the debate against Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican.
“I know that’s an interesting question for people inside the beltway to discuss, but they are wondering when in the world they are going to get some COVID-19 relief,” added Warnock, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Asked again by a debate moderator whether he supports adding seats to the court, he replied: “I’m really not focused on it.”
Georgia senate candidate Raphael Warnock refuses to answer whether he supports packing the court:
"I'm really not focused on it." pic.twitter.com/YQTCjeAW6W
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 7, 2020
Majority control of the Senate next year depends on the outcome of the Loeffler-Warnock race, as well as another race in Georgia between incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Republicans have asserted that, should Democrats take control of the Senate, they will enact a series of radical measures, including expansion of the Supreme Court, tax hikes and ending the filibuster.
Republicans have to win at least one of the races in order to retain majority control of the Senate.
Should both Warnock and Ossoff win their races, Senate Democrats will likely face pressure from some in their party to expand the court.
Progressives began pushing the idea during the Democratic primaries last year. It gained steam after President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court after she died in September.
President-elect Joe Biden also refused during the presidential campaign to say whether he supports the measure. He has not staked his position on the measure since winning the election last month.
Watch the full debate:
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Chuck Ross is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
