'Heads to explode': Ex-lawmaker 'stirs up everything' with controversial Biden scheme
Democrats are suddenly panicked about the prospect of replacing U.S. Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Senators have been actively discussing replacements for the 70-year-old justice, if she could be persuaded to retire before president Joe Biden leaves office, and former Democratic lawmaker Bakari Sellers floated one intriguing possibility on CNN.
"I think that is a good plan and it is something that should happen," Sellers said. "Justice Sotomayor a has been more than able justice. I know she may be having personal issues that she contends with while serving on the bench, but I don't want justice Sotomayor to be another Ruth Bader Ginsburg in terms of staying too long. What does this mean for the dynamic of the court? The court to 6-3. If we are able to replace it with a Biden justice it will still be 6-3. The possibility of justice Sotomayor having to resign or retire in the next four years is extremely high. You couple that with [Samuel] Alito and Clarence Thomas, that means you go from a 6-3 court to 7-2 court in terms of conservative versus liberal."
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The former South Carolina state legislator then suggested Vice President Kamala Harris as a possible replacement for Sotomayor, although he admitted that would rile up Republicans.
"I hope that Joe Biden makes the next 10 weeks as consequential as he can," Sellers said. "I don't care about drawing outside the lines of what Republicans may think about it, this is within your purview, you can do it and you should do it. One more thing, you have a of a vice president who has a legal pedigree to sit on the Supreme Court and let Republicans go crazy, ape, at even mentioning that option."
Host John Berman raised his eyebrows in surprise and conservative commentator Shermichael Singleton laughed and shook his head.
"Are you floating this, 7:39 a.m. on the East Coast, did Bakari Sellers just float vice president Kamala Harris as a potential Supreme Court nominee?" Berman asked.
"Not only am I floating it, I want to stir up everything," Sellers said. "I want people's heads to explode so we go into the weekend just knowing the chaos has not ended."
Singleton admitted the idea was audacious, but he's not sure that Biden has the political capital to make it work.
"It's an idea that I have not heard anyone mention," he said. "Best of luck getting around Mitch McConnell, who is one of the most surgical individuals to ever lead or be in the minority position of the United States Senate. I think if Democrats were to attempt to nominate the vice president or anybody else, I think Mitch will do everything he can within the confines of the Senate rules to give the incoming president the opportunity to make every single nomination and ultimately confirm those nominations."
Berman recalled that Republican pushed through Amy Coney Barrett's nomination in the weeks before the 2020 election, and he surmised that Democrats could potentially do the same thing with their waning majority.
"It can be done quickly, we saw it happen with Amy Coney Barrett," Sellers said. "It would take a lot of maneuvering by [Senate majority leader] Chuck Schumer and get Joe Manchin on board and [Kyrsten] Sinema on board."
"I respect Chuck Schumer, but Chuck Schumer is no Mitch McConnell," Singleton said. "I just don't see it happening. Could Mitch do something like this? Yes, but Chuck, I would not hold my breath."
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