Vanguard News Desk Editor
WASHINGTON, DC – Democrats in Congress here finally did it, and introduced legislation late last week to totally reform the U.S. Supreme Court, including increasing the number of justices on the court from nine to thirteen.
Although the odds of Republicans agreeing to such a plan are next to nil, according to NBC News and the Washington Post, progressive Dems led the way to find a solution to the GOP-dominated top court that’s already heavily damaged Democrat causes, like the right to an abortion.
“The move intensifies a high-stakes ideological fight over the future of the court after President Donald Trump and Republicans appointed three conservative justices in four years, including one who was confirmed days before the 2020 election,” reported NBC.
Democrats Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee authored the measure, which is co-sponsored by Reps. Hank Johnson of Georgia and Mondaire Jones of New York.
Oddly, according to reporting, key Democrats don’t appear to favor the move.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters she won’t bring the bill “to the floor,” adding, “I don’t know that that’s a good idea or bad idea. I think it’s an idea that should be considered. I think the president’s taking the right approach to have a commission to study such a thing. It’s a big step.”
President Joe Biden has said he is “not a fan” of packing the court, although the Supreme Court can be “expanded by an act of Congress, but the legislation is highly unlikely to become law in the near future given Democrats’ slim majorities, which include scores of lawmakers who are not on board with the idea,” wrote NBC.
Biden has announced the formation of a commission to take a bipartisan look at the structure of the Supreme Court, including the number of justices and the length of their service.
Democrats cite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to block a vote in 2016 to President Barack Obama’s pick to fill a vacancy, citing the approaching election. But McConnell turned around and confirmed Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett the week before the election last year.
Democratic legislators announced the bill outside the Supreme Court building last Thursday and NBC reported they were joined by progressive activists Aaron Belkin of Take Back the Court; Chris Kang, a co-founder and chief counsel of Demand Justice; and Meagan Hatcher-Mays of Indivisible. All three groups advocate adding justices.
“This bill marks a new era where Democrats finally stop conceding the Supreme Court to Republicans,” NBC quoted Brian Fallon, a former Senate Democratic leadership aide and a co-founder of Demand Justice, who described the court as “broken and in need of reform.”
“Our task now is to build a grassroots movement that puts pressure on every Democrat in Congress to support this legislation because it is the only way to restore balance to the court and protect our democracy,” Fallon told NBC.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, told NBC News it’s “important for us to make our case to the American people as to why this is necessary,” and that he doesn’t want to “put the cart ahead of the horse” on adding seats.
“There’s been a lot of manipulation and I think it’s put the court in a very perilous position, and we need to remedy the problems that McConnell caused,” he added.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said he’s “concerned” about McConnell’s tactics to “control the future of the court” but is not “ready to sign on yet. I think this commission of Biden is the right move. Let’s think this through carefully. This is historic.”
The Supreme Court size has changed over the years since its inception in 1789, but has remained constant at nine members since 1869.
