On MSNBC Saturday, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called on Democrats to pack the Supreme Court after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death opened the door for Republicans to confirm an originalist replacement in the final stretch of the election.
Holder argued that, had D.C. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland been confirmed by the Republican Senate in 2016, the Supreme Court would have held a leftist majority for many years, allowing Democrats to further weaponize the court as a leftist quasi-legislature. Ginsburg’s passing now marks the absence of one of the court’s most liberal members, allowing conservatives the opportunity to flip the seat and create a conservative-leaning majority.
“One of the realities is if Merrick Garland had been confirmed, as he should have been, there would have been a progressive majority on the court for the past three years. Think about what that meant,” Holder said. “So I think that if, if in fact they are successful in placing a justice on the court, I think that what Democrats have to do assuming Biden is president and there is a Senate majority for Democrats, we need to think about court reform, and at a minimum as part of that reform package, I think additional justices need to be placed on the Supreme Court.”
Holder’s remarks have been echoed by a wide range of Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media, including New York Rep. Jerry Nadler and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey.
“If McConnell pushes through a nominee, President Biden should pack the court,” headlined one article in the Trump-resistance Washington Post.
“If Republicans give Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat to some Federalist Society fanatic, Democrats should pack the court,” wrote New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg.
Holder, 69, served as U.S. attorney general under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2015. During his tenure, Holder managed to become the first attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress on both criminal and civil charges in 2012.
