Biden to Democrats: Focus on health law, not court expansion

WILMINGTON, Del. — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wants voters to see Republicans’ push for a speedy Supreme Court confirmation as an end-run of Congress and the 2010 health care law.

In remarks on Sunday, the former vice president sidestepped any talk of expanding the court to counter conservative gains should he defeat President Donald Trump in November and Democrats regain a Senate majority. Biden called that scenario a distraction from the practical effects that Trump’s nominee, conservative federal judge Amy Coney Barrett, could have if she succeeds the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“They see an opportunity to overturn the Affordable Care Act on their way out the door,” Biden said, speaking near his Delaware home. “The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court right now, as I speak, to eliminate the entire Affordable Care Act.”

Biden repeated his calls that the Senate delay confirmation proceedings until after the Nov. 3 election, moving ahead then if Trump wins another term or awaiting a nomination from Biden if the Democrat prevails.

The focus on health care reflects the Democrats' larger strategy in recent days. They tacitly concede Republicans are likely to confirm Barrett, giving conservatives a 6-3 court majority. So, rather than fight a losing battle, as they did with Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 confirmation, Democrats want to raise the pressure on Republicans by focusing on how a conservative supermajority of justices might affect Americans’ everyday lives.

Justices are scheduled on Nov. 10, a week after Election Day, to hear another challenge of the 2010 health care law. Biden noted the court has twice upheld the law, a signature achievement of President Barack Obama’s and Biden's White House tenure. But those were divided rulings, with Ginsburg in the narrowest of majorities.

“President Trump could claim all he wants that he is going to protect people with preexisting conditions. But the fact is he’s already fighting to take those protections away,” Biden said, l... (Read more)

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