Progressives want Biden to spend more time talking about reforming the Supreme Court, and with good reason; the major questions doctrine is going to make it impossible for them to solve social problems with regulations. So far, Biden has refused. Why?
For a variety of reasons:
- There is no realistic prospect of doing anything about the Court in the next few years;
- Biden knows what happened to FDR’s ratings after his proposal to pack the Court;
- He also knows that the Court has inadvertently handed him some important political gifts by overturning abortion rights and eliminating affirmative action; and
- Most importantly, Biden undoubtedly plans to run as an institutional conservative against a reactionary extremist who suggested terminating the Constitution less than a year ago. He would be muddling the message of safety and stability by proposing any kind of dramatic Supreme Court reform in his platform.
I expect Supreme Court reform to be high on the priority list for the Democratic candidates in 2028. At that point, one way or another, Trump will be out of the picture. For now, however, Biden’s stance makes perfect sense.