Biden: WH Event to Celebrate Barrett Nomination Is 'Inappropriate'

Trump should 'have a little bit of shame'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 26, 2020 5:11 PM CDT
Biden: WH Event to Celebrate Barrett Nomination Is 'Inappropriate'
President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at HoverTech International, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Allentown, Pa.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Joe Biden says he doesn’t blame President Trump for "celebrating" another Supreme Court confirmation, but the Democrat says the White House event planned Monday night after the Senate vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett is "inappropriate." Speaking to reporters as he campaigned in Pennsylvania on Monday, Biden urged the president "to have a little bit of shame because people are dying" amid new spikes in coronavirus cases across the country, the AP reports. The US death toll from the pandemic tops 225,000. Biden has made Trump’s handling of the virus an anchor of his general election campaign.

Biden also has been critical of Republicans’ speedy confirmation of Barrett. But he said Monday he gives "my word” that he hasn’t decided whether he’d back some Democrats’ calls to expand the court if he takes office to counter Republican power plays. He said he’d give a bipartisan commission of "constitutional scholars" 180 days from Inauguration Day to recommend changes to the federal court system. Biden said he’s "not a fan" of court expansion but promised to listen to experts.

(More Joe Biden stories.)

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