President Donald Trump released a list of potential Supreme Court nominees, and now, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), it’s Joe Biden’s turn.
Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a statement demanding Biden share who he is considering for potential Supreme Court nominations by the end of the month.
“I hope Vice President Biden will agree with me that the American people deserve this information before the election, not after. I call on Vice President Biden to release the list of names from which he would nominate to the Supreme Court, no later than September 30th,” Grassley said.
While Biden previously indicated that he would be releasing a list of potential Court nominees, specifically “African American women,” there is still no word from him on when that list will be published.
“We are putting together a list of a group of African American women who are qualified and have the experience to be on the court,” Biden said in June. “I am not going to release that until we go further down the line in vetting them.”
Trump announced the addition of 20 names to the 44 already on his list of Supreme Court nominations in early September. Some of his newest additions include Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Josh Hawley of Missouri as well as other “conservative legal professionals.”
According to Grassley, Trump’s “transparency” in publishing the potential nominees is a privilege of voters that should also be afforded by Biden.
“The Biden-Harris ticket owes voters the same transparency President Trump has demonstrated along with the same commitment to nominate from that list should there be a vacancy. There’s no reason to hide something as consequential as who would be named to our highest court,” Grassley said.
Despite Grassley’s exhortations, Democrats appear hesitant to hear Biden’s picks, with some even urging him to wait until “vacancies occur” before he makes any judgments.
“I sincerely hope he does not do that,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told The Hill. “We ought to go back to the regular order of things. If and when vacancies occur he can look for the very best person at that moment.”
