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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden continued criticism of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down colleges’ affirmative action programs but said trying to expand the court would be a “mistake,” in an interview on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House.”
When asked about expanding the size of the Supreme Court, Biden said that if the court were expanded, it would become too politicized.
Biden delivered remarks earlier today at the White House following the Supreme Court’s decision, saying he strongly disagrees with the high court’s ruling.
“I know today’s court decision is a severe disappointment for so many people, including me, but we cannot let the decision be a permanent setback for the country,” he said. “We need to keep an open door of opportunities. We need to remember that diversity is our strength.”
During his remarks, Biden spoke about misconceptions surrounding affirmative action, and argued that both the nation and “colleges are stronger when they’re racially diverse.”
He proposed in his speech that colleges take into account the adversity a student has overcome when selecting among qualified applicants.
“It means understanding a particular hardships that each individual student has faced in life, including racial discrimination that individuals have faced in their own lives,” Biden said.
He also said he has directed the Department of Education to analyze what practices help higher education build a more inclusive and diverse student body, as well as policies that hinder those goals, “like legacy admissions and other systems that expand privilege instead of opportunity.”
The affirmative action rulings stemmed from two cases before the Court: Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the UNC case and 6-2 in the Harvard case. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has served on Harvard’s board of overseers, was recused.
Lawrence Hurley contributed.
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