Kamala Harris, the vice president, who considered “packing” the U.S. Supreme Court while she ran for president in 2019, is vehemently opposed to Israel’s judicial reforms. Israel is mulling possible changes similar to those in the United States.
Israel is mulling possible changes similar to those in the United States that Kamala once approved of, such as enabling judges to be appointed by the legislature.
Protests have broken out recently because the opposition views the courts as a leftist stronghold.
As Harris put it, the United States and Israel have a long and enduring relationship based on several factors, including an intertwined history, but also that relate to shared principles regarding the importance of democracy. She said the U.S. will continue to work on strengthening “our relationship based on that.”
When asked whether she is troubled by the current situation in Israel, Harris said, “I am. Everyone is watching.”
But Harris was too willing to “pack” the United States during her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, which ended late in 2019.
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initially suggested it, even Democrats shot it down. But, the mere threat of such action had the intended effect of swaying the court to sustain his New Deal laws.
Harris was asked about her stance on the proposal many times in 2019, each time responding that she was “open” to the notion.
In March 2019, Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand said they would not rule out increasing the number of the Supreme Court’s judges if elected president.
A crisis of trust in the Supreme Court is imminent, Harris (D-Calif.) said. ‘We must meet this problem immediately, and all options are on the table.’
She told the New York Times that she was “totally” receptive to the concept but declined to provide more details.
Harris refused to condemn court-packing, although she and Biden avoided the issue for weeks before the end of the campaign.
Ultimately, Biden established a panel to investigate the proposal, and its findings indicated “uncertain” outcomes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has temporarily halted reforms to facilitate talks.
