Vice President Kamala Harris has previously expressed support for expanding the Supreme Court, a move that would theoretically allow liberal justices to take on a majority role through new appointments. This stance has raised concerns among Republicans and conservative legal experts.
Vice President Kamala Harris's past statements and refusal to comment further on the subject suggest that her administration could undertake not only the Supreme Court expansion apparently outlined in the administration's desired overhaul but an even more drastic version.
Last month, the Biden-Harris administration rolled out a slate of policies to overhaul the Supreme Court. In their proposal, they called for term limits for Supreme Court justices, an enforceable ethics code for justices, and an amendment to the Constitution to overturn the high court's ruling that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts while in office.
Kamala Harris's Past Support for Court-Packing Raises Concerns
The overhaul also included a form of packing the court, according to the analysis of former Trump administration lawyer Mark Paoletta. Stealthily included under the term limit proposal, Biden and Harris's plan outlines a system in which the president appoints a new Supreme Court justice "every two years to spend eighteen years in active service on the Supreme Court."
Paoletta said in a statement to Fox News Digital: "Even though Joe Biden caved to radicals and recently endorsed court packing, Harris is even further to the left of him on this thoroughly discredited idea." He notably worked on the confirmation efforts for Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch.
Kamala Harris's Past Support for Court-Packing Raises Concerns
Harris's past statements and refusal to comment further on the subject suggest that her administration could undertake not only the Supreme Court expansion apparently outlined in the administration's desired overhaul but an even more drastic version.
Paoletta pointed to a recent claim from Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who said Harris's campaign told him his Supreme Court legislation is "precisely aligned with what we are talking about," the Dispatch reported.
Kamala Harris's Past Support for Court-Packing Raises Concerns
"According to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse—who is the single most malignant figure in America trying to undermine the independence of the Supreme Court—Harris supports his court-packing legislation that would disqualify the senior-most Justices from active service, which just so happen to be Justice Thomas, Chief Justice Roberts, and Justice Alito," Paoletta explained.
He claimed Whitehouse's plans, which Harris has purportedly expressed agreement with, are "far more nefarious" than the "court packing scheme" under former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Kamala Harris's Past Support for Court-Packing Raises Concerns
As Paoletta noted, legislation authored by Whitehouse laid out a similar structure to Biden and Harris's latest proposal, outlining appointments of justices every two years. Under the bill, only the most recently appointed nine justices would oversee appellate jurisdiction cases. It further states that "all" justices are to preside over original jurisdiction cases without specifying a number.
Prior to the latest overhaul proposal, Biden had held off supporting packing the court, despite calls from other Democrats. He once warned that Democrats would "live to rue" taking such action.
Kamala Harris's Past Support for Court-Packing Raises Concerns
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews, and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
