Both Republicans and Democrats have lobbed accusations of court- packing at each other for years, but the definition is clear, according to nonpartisan fact-checker PolitiFact.
“Genuine court packing has involved one branch of government proposing to change the structure of the courts, either expanding or decreasing the number of judges,” according to a PolitiFact piece from 2013 covering accusations that President Obama was packing the court by naming three nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
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Democrats, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, are accusing President Trump of packing the Supreme Court by nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett shortly before Election Day.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
Seven years ago, Republicans, including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were making that same claim about Obama.
“Our experts agreed that Obama is trying to put his imprint on the court — but they said he’s doing so within the bounds of his constitutional duty to fill court vacancies,” according to PolitiFact.
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PolitiFact did acknowledge Republicans’ point that Obama was filling seats on the “under-worked” D.C. Circuit court even though other vacancies had a more urgent need to be filled.
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