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Announces plan for a commission to fix ‘out of whack’ system

After repeatedly refusing to say whether or not he would move to pack the Supreme Court if elected, Joe Biden promised ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos last week he would state his position before the Nov. 3 vote.

Now, the Democratic presidential nominee has announced he will create a national commission to reform the court that will “go well beyond packing.”

Biden discussed his plan in an excerpt of an upcoming “60 Minutes” interview aired Thursday on “CBS This Morning.”

“If elected, what I will do is I’ll put together a national commission of bipartisan commission of scholars, constitutional scholars, Democrats, Republicans, liberal, conservative,” he said.

“And I will ask them to over 180 days come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it’s getting out of whack, the way in which it’s being handled,” Biden continued.

“And it’s not about court-packing. There’s a number of other things that our constitutional scholars have debated and I’d look to see what recommendations that commission might make.”

CBS’ Norah O’Donnell asked Biden it the commission will study the issue of whether or not to pack the court, meaning to add several seats on the bench and fill them.

“No, whether — there’s a number of alternatives that are, go well beyond packing,” he said.

“This is a live ball,” remarked O’Donnell, the anchor of CBS Evening News and a correspondent for “60 Minutes.”

“Oh, it is a live ball,” Biden confirmed. “No, it is a live ball.”

“We’re going to have to do that. And you’re going to find there’s a lot of conservative constitutional scholars who are saying it, as well,” Biden said.

“The last thing we need to do is turn the Supreme Court into just a political football – whoever has the most votes gets whatever they want. Presidents come and go. Supreme Court justices stay for generations.”

At the ABC town hall last Thursday, Biden – while having insisted he’s “not a fan” of court packing – said his decision on whether or not to endorse it “depends” on how Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination “turns out.”

Barrett’s nomination was advanced Thursday morning by the Senate Judiciary Committee amid a boycott by Democrats who contend the process is a “sham” because it is taking place on the even of an election.

See the excerpt of the “60 Minutes” interview:

A majority of likely voters oppose court-packing in response to the Barrett nomination, according to a New York Times conducted Oct. 15-18.

The survey found 58% favored increasing the size of the court. Only 31% said they were in favor of court packing.

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