House and Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation to expand the U.S. Supreme Court to 13 seats, from the current nine. Contrary to commentary from conservatives, the Constitution does not specify the number of seats the nation’s highest court should have, and this would not be the first time Congress has changed the size of the Court: it has been changed seven times before.
And as some point out, counting Senate Mitch McConnell’s refusal to allow President Barack Obama to fill an empty seat on the Supreme Court unofficially makes it eight times before.
The Judiciary Act of 2021 has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and in the House by Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Reps. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Mondaire Jones (D-NY).
It merely reads: “Section 1 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘a Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom shall constitute a quorum’ and inserting ‘a Chief Justice of the United States and twelve associate justices, any eight of whom shall constitute a quorum’.”
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR):
Cotton also tweeted: “Court packing will be the end of the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and the end of the rule of law in America.”
Former DOJ director of public affairs and Clinton 2016 campaign national press secretary Brian Fallon responded, saying: “In Cotton’s home state of Arkansas right now, Republicans are pushing an amendment to the state Constitution to strip the state Supreme Court’s ability to set rules for how courts hear cases and give that power instead to the GOP-controlled legislature.”
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) appears to believe a “conservative majority” is merely the Supreme Court’s natural state.
Former OANN host, coronavirus conspiracy theorist, anti-LGBTQ activist:
Candace Owens, former Turning Point USA communications director who praised Hitler, saying, “if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay, fine,” but the problem is he “wanted to globalize”:
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO):
Mike Pompeo, former Trump Secretary of State and 2024 presidential hopeful:
Anti-abortion extremist: