WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the number-two Democrat in the Senate, sidestepped questions Sunday about whether he supports progressive calls to expand the size of the U.S. Supreme Court and accused Republicans of packing the federal courts by
“The American people have watched Republicans packing the court over the last three and a half years, and they brag about it, that they’ve taken every vacancy and filled it,” Durbin said during an exclusive interview on “Meet the Press.” Durbin lamented how Republicans refused to hold a hearing for then-President Obama's Supreme Court nominee when he was nominated in March of 2016.
Instead, Durbin criticized the nomination, saying that Barrett is being “sent on assignment to the Supreme Court by President Trump” to “eliminate the Affordable Care Act” and “be there if the president needs her on an election contest.”
MeetThePress Expanding the Supreme Court is not what’s happening now the scotus hearing is happening now. Focus on that . Next Ask who or what party’s packing the court or courts now. Republicans
MeetThePress A democrat refusing to outright lie! An unprecedented moment.
MeetThePress Is this really the most important issue we are dealing with? We have a President that isa national security threat abd this is what you are worried about?!!!
MeetThePress Elections have consequences, whether it’s MoscowMitch not confirming Obama judges or democrats passing Obamacare. Btw, Why does chuck Todd still have a tv show?
MeetThePress The American ppl not concern about that
MeetThePress Do unto others as they have done unto you X 10 When they're racist, bigoted, unpricipled, fraudulent, whiners like the trump admin. and GOPpifer 5.0, Stormtrumper, Evangelical Grifter
MeetThePress D J Trump heralds the destruction of the USA as a World Lead Nation and as a Democracy. He will destroy all that the Founding Fathers of the Greatest Nation held dear in writing the Constitution of USA and that of the Party of Lincoln.
MeetThePress Keep these Democrats away from Office.
MeetThePress How is this a thing when Republicans have packed the Courts with unqualified GOP loyalist
MeetThePress COVID JOBS, ECONOMY, HEALTHCARE are important and Biden has said he isn’t ready to make that decision! Now McConnell is on Hannity laughing about packing the courts! Report that!
MeetThePress I would also not answer that question, but if you must a simple answer would be, ASK ME ON NOVEMBER 4th.
MeetThePress Stop this shit! Focus on Trump's corruption.
MeetThePress Republicans made their plan to pack the courts since Reagan. You weren't paying attention. Now, you watched McConnell stop all Obama nominees, we have 200K people dead from COVID-19, Trump has ignored the Hatch Act, & the AG has effectively suspended the rule of law. Do your job.
MeetThePress So?
MeetThePress You didn’t seem to have the same coverage for the blocking of Merrick Garland! What gives?
MeetThePress Funny how the American people cannot get a straight yes or no from a democrat on whether they will move to pack the Supreme Court with additional judges. My takeaway is the answer is 'Yes', which will forever change America, and not in a good way.
MeetThePress Why do you keep on asking the same questions to Democrats. Why don’t you ask the republicans about trump taxes , when did he last reported negative , who he owes 421 millions in debt and more. You cowards.
MeetThePress No need to side step: just quote what Mitch said:
MeetThePress It is a hypothetical question at this point. The media needs to move on to the real issues...people hungry and jobless!
MeetThePress Oh please do better.
MeetThePress And another news: Are you working on getting a story together regarding this action?
MeetThePress Really only need three one for one against and one to decide
MeetThePress Ask MoscowMitch since he’s been doing it for 6 yrs
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MeetThePress Ask MoscowMitch about being so proud of his packing of the courts. Why the outrage because of the possibility of Democrats cleaning up his mess.? So many unqualified biased judges who aren’t even just conservatives they are nut jobs! You are asking the wrong questions !
MeetThePress I don't give a damn about Dems decision, i'm more concerned with the Republicans destroying everything and you not pressuring them for answers. You know they are destroying the country but never press for answers. Do your damn job!
MeetThePress Typical modern day democratic agenda. If you can't beat them at the polls change the rules.
MeetThePress It's just so ironic to me that the Republican are crying foul and that the Dems want to pack the court when that is exactly what they are doing with Amy Coney Barrett. The ratio will be 6-3 in favor of conservative judges. So who's packing the court again?
MeetThePress msnbc - this is not news. What is news is that the GOP majority is pushing through a senate confirmation now 23 days before an election. Guessing or asking people to say definitely what will happen I in the future is not news.
MeetThePress Even if he did, is that any worse than Mitch McConnell depriving Super-qualified Judge Garland from hearings and McConnell packing the courts for past 10 years? Republicans believe in a double standard. Republicans first; Democrats last. He is a cheater!!!
MeetThePress Good job...never answer a hypothetical question.
MeetThePress K
MeetThePress I wish the media would stop falling for Republican gaslighting. Pence threw out the court-packing red meat and you idiots, like squirrels have latched onto it instead of focussing on Trump's atrocities. No wonder people question your integrity.
MeetThePress We don’t have to answer any of these questions. If Blue wins big we can do what we chose. Moscow Mitch packed the courts all this time. Obama couldn’t get anything through. Winner takes all and Moscow Mitch is going burn one day
MeetThePress Stop asking the Dems and report on the Republicans presently packing the courts ffs.
MeetThePress The Republican claim of Democrat 'court packing' is laughingly underhanded. Republicans already have 'packed' the court by denying Garland a hearing, but advancing Barrett under substantially the same circumstances. The open duplicity is spectacular.
MeetThePress Of course he does. Did you expect anything less from him?
MeetThePress I'm not progressive. But I think Dem packing is a good thing. Senator McConnell locked up the Federal Court system for several years by not approving Obama's judge choices. The GOP made sure they packed the courts under Trump. Maybe it's time the Dems returned the favor.
MeetThePress Good after mcconnell stole the meric garland nomination and showed how hypocritical that they are they do not deserve an answer
MeetThePress Have you asked MoscoMitch why he blocked 100s of Obama’s nominees to fill the courts only for him to pack them with conservative judges once they assumed power. Until MoscoMitch answers that question, no Democrat owes any answer about the future of the courts. This is only FAIR!
MeetThePress THIS!!
MeetThePress GOP planned to hold a SCOTUS seat open for 4 years if Hillary had won!!!
MeetThePress Who cares? Why are you trying to make this a thing when there are so many other more important topics to report on besides Rs trying to create another double standard?
MeetThePress I hope they fucking pack the shit out of them!
MeetThePress The Democraps are not going to answer that question we the people already know the answer
MeetThePress NBCnews You might be better off asking GOP why they are hellbent on installing an extremest rightwing jurist to SC when people are already voting in huge numbers for a new president & why they are ignoring the will of the people to choose how this country is governed?
MeetThePress Who is being a fascist here?
MeetThePress McConnell would not give hearings on over 100 Obama judges and Merrick Garland. Who was packing the courts?
MeetThePress Must feel strange to support a party who has to hide what they stand for , NBC News..........that's funny
MeetThePress More focus on this than on when President’s last negative test was.
MeetThePress He doesn't have to answer....nor should u even be asking.
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MeetThePress As he should. It's a trap.
MeetThePress Their silence is the message: Don’t try it Mitch!
MeetThePress This is dumb. The republicans are packing the courts now!
MeetThePress Because they all know the answers abs don’t want to tell the truth!!!! Like all other democrats!!!
MeetThePress Oh please. Ask Mitch McConnell about court packing. He’s been doing it for years.
MeetThePress Why doesn't the MSM ask the republicans about their stacking the courts ideologically by blocking Obama's nominees to obfuscate voting rights and any legislation they do not like. The likely 6-3 subpreme court will represent around 3/6's of America ideologically. SenatorDurbin
MeetThePress emails 2.0
MeetThePress What's with the defensiveness? PACK THE COURT! Perfectly legal, totally necessary.
MeetThePress who gives a shit!!!!!!! why is the media covering this so dam annoying