By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President Joe Biden has said he respects Supreme Court ruling ending the US right to abortion, even as he says he’s considering unilateral actions, including executive order to counter what he describes as “extreme” ruling.
Biden through a spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre also says he sees no need to expand the Supreme Court membership.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Jean-Pierre offered no timeline for the release of such orders and downplayed their significance: “Nothing could fill the hole that this decision has made,” she said. “The only way to make that whole again is for Congress to act.”
Still, Biden continues to respect the authority of the Supreme Court, Jean-Pierre said.
“When the president commented about the court’s ruling, it was about the decision,” which was “extreme,” she said as the president traveled to Germany for the Group of Seven summit of rich nations.
“He sees the court obviously as legitimate and he respects the court… it is a court that he highly respects.”
On Saturday, Biden again condemned the court’s decisions earlier in the week restricting abortion rights and expanding gun owners’ rights. “The Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions,” he told reporters. read more
The legally binding rulings outraged liberals disenchanted by the 6-3 conservative majority on the nation’s top judicial body.
An expert commission launched by Biden deadlocked in December over whether to recommend reforms to the court’s structure, including expanding its membership beyond nine justices.
“About expanding the court, that is something that the president does not agree with,” said Jean-Pierre. “That is not something that he wants to do.”
She declined to address other reform proposals discussed by the commission, such as imposing term limits on justices.
Jean-Pierre said she expects there will be further legal challenges to new state-level restrictions on women traveling to seek abortions.
