Biden’s Warning To GOP Senators On Supreme Court: ‘Americans Are Watching’

Topline

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday made yet another appeal to Republican senators not to go forward with confirming Amy Coney Barrett ahead of the election, interlaced with a warning: that doing so could prove deeply unpopular and hasten their electoral demise.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“President Trump can claim all he wants that he’s going to protect people with pre-existing conditions, but the fact is, he’s actively fighting to take those protections away as we speak,” Biden said, previewing a Democratic response focused largely on health care. “This is about whether or not the ACA will exist. This is about whether or not preexisting conditions will continue to be covered.”

Big Number

56%. That’s the share of voters in a New York Times/Siena Research poll who said the winner of the election should appoint Ginsburg’s replacement, with 41% saying Trump should. The poll also found the ACA is broadly popular, with 57% saying they support the health law to just 38% who oppose it.

Chief Critic

The Trump campaign took aim at Biden for his ongoing refusal to release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees, a practice started by Trump in 2016. “Joe Biden refuses to tell the American people who he’d nominate to SCOTUS,” tweeted Trump campaign rapid response aide Abigail Marone. “He refuses to tell the American people whether or not he supports court packing. The American people deserve answers!” Biden, for his part, has warned such a list could corrupt a judge’s decision making, subject them to “unrelenting political attacks” and cut out the senate’s “advice and consent” role in selecting Supreme Court justices.

What To Watch For

Barrett is likely to get confirmed. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are the only two Republicans in the Senate who have expressed opposition to confirming a nominee before the election, meaning Republicans won’t face the four defections needed to derail a nomination. Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham announced Saturday that hearings would begin on Oct. 12, meaning Barrett will likely be confirmed around Oct. 15, a historically speedy process.