On Thursday, House Democrats introduced a bill that would expand the current number of Supreme Court Justices from nine to 13. The bill was introduced by Senator Ed Markey along with Representatives Hank Johnson, Jerrold Nadler, and Mondaine Jones.
In a statement released after the bills unveiling, Markey said that the GOP “stole” the Supreme Court Majority when Republicans confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett last year.
“Republicans stole the Court’s majority, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation completing their crime spree,” Senator Markey said. “This legislation will restore the Court’s balance and public standing and begin to repair the damage done to our judiciary and democracy.”
If the “Judiciary Act of 2021” is passed, the current conservative majority of 6-3 in the Supreme Court could be flipped to a Democrat majority of 7-6.
Top Democrats were vocally unsupportive of the new bill and instead are supportive of President Biden’s plan to form a presidential commission to look into potential Supreme Court reforms.
“I have no plans to bring it to the floor,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after being asked about the new bill. “I don’t know that that’s a good idea or a bad idea. I think it’s an idea that should be considered, and I think the president’s taking the right approach to have the commission to study such a thing.”
Many Republicans have voiced their opposition to the new bill, with many saying that it will undermine the American people’s trust in the Supreme Court.
Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican, said “They [House Democrats] did that because they want power, just like how they changed the election laws, just like how they’ve gone after your guns and your weapons, just like how they’re leaving the border open and granting amnesty so more people can come in. All of this is related to their attempt to irrigate power to the center, which is Washington D.C.”
Senator Mike Lee said, “Packing the court is an act of arrogant lawlessness. Those behind this effort spit in the face of judicial independence.”
“Last week, President Biden, who was marketed to the country as a moderate and an institutionalist, jumped in with both feet, set up a pseudo-academic commission to study the merits of packing the Supreme Court, just an attempt to close this transparent power play in fake legitimacy. But, alas, the far-left cannot even wait for the fake theatrics of the fake study to play out,” Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said.
