He made the comment in response to a question during a rally in Iowa.
Author: Suzanne Nuyen, TEGNA
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he was open to nominating former President Barack Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court he if wins the 2020 election.
He made the comment in response to a question during a rally in Iowa.
“If he’d take it, yes,” he said after being asked if he’d consider OBama for a position on the Supreme Court, according to The New York Times.
Biden served as vice president for all eight years of Obama’s presidency. Obama would be the second former president to serve on the supreme court if he should join. According to CNN, President WIlliam Howard Taft was the first.
The topic of Obama serving in the supreme court also came up in the 2016 election. Hilary Clinton said it was a “great idea” at a rally in Iowa when it was suggested to her, according to CNN.
Obama himself might have a different opinion though. In a 2014 interview to the New Yorker, he said the job might be too “monastic” for him.
“When I got out of law school, I chose not to clerk,” he said. “Partly because I was an older student, but partly because I don’t think I have the temperament to sit in a chamber and write opinions.”
He added that he loved the law, “intellectually.” “I love nutting out these problems, wrestling with these arguments. I love teaching. I miss the classroom and engaging with students,” he added “But I think being a Justice is a little bit too monastic for me. Particularly after having spent six years and what will be eight years in this bubble, I think I need to get outside a little bit more.”
The comments were made during his presidency. Six years later, it’s unclear if Obama’s opinions have changed.
