Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., says Joe Biden has not released his SCOTUS nominee list because "he knows he would lose" the 2020 presidential election.
"Joe Biden knows that if he revealed the kinds of radical, left-wing lawyers he would appoint to the Supreme Court that he would lose the election," Cotton told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
Biden on Sunday indicated he would not be releasing a possible nominee list despite growing pressure to do so following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday.
"First, putting a judge's name on a list like that could influence that person's decision making as a judge, and that would be wrong, or at least create the perception that it would have influence," Biden said in remarks from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia in explaining why he is not in favor of releasing a list of contenders.
"Second, anyone put on a list like that under these circumstances would be subject to unrelenting political attacks, because any nominee I would select would not get a hearing until 2021 at the earliest. She would endure those attacks for months on end without being able to defend herself."
Biden has also refused to say whether he would expand the Supreme Court if he wins, a non-answer criticized by Cotton.
"[Democrats] believe that the Supreme Court should be a left-wing organization that always moves the country further to the left, and if they pack the court, they'll do it so they can continue to rubber-stamp left-wing policies out of Congress and out of our state legislatures," Cotton said. "That's why we need to move forward with this vacancy without delay."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.