Democrats are pushing a new bill in Congress that would pack the Supreme Court. They plan to unveil the measure today in a news conference at the steps of the high court.
The website theintercept.com reports the proposal has sponsors in both the House and Senate. It would increase the number of justices to 13 from the current nine.
The move comes after President Biden announced a commission to study the federal courts. Progressive activists have been pushing for Democrats to pack the court by adding more justices who would support liberal policies.
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Republicans quickly attacked the move and the idea hasn’t been popular. A New York Times – Sienna College poll last October found that 58 percent oppose increasing the size of the court, while only 31 percent supported it.
That poll was taken during the presidential campaign last October when then-candidate Biden took no position on court-packing. But as a senator in 1983, he blasted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for trying to do it.
“President Roosevelt clearly had the right to send to the United States Senate and the United States Congress a proposal to pack the court. It was totally within his right to do that. He violated no law. He was legalistically absolutely correct. But it was a bonehead idea!” Biden said.
The U.S. has had nine justices on the Supreme Court since 1869. To add additional justices would take an act of Congress, along with support from the President, but it’s unclear how the country would respond to such a serious move to change 150+ years of precedent.
Just last week, liberal justice Stephen Breyer, the court’s oldest member, warned liberal advocates of making big changes to the court, including expanding the number of justices. Breyer said in a speech that advocates should think “long and hard” about what they’re proposing.
Politically driven change could diminish the trust Americans place in the court, Breyer said.
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