Panel wary of court expansion, but open to term limits

Acommission tasked with studying potential changes to the Supreme Court has released a first look at its review, a draft report that is cautious in discussing proposals for expanding the court but also speaks approvingly of term limits for justices.

The 36-member bipartisan commission, largely composed of academics, has been studying court reform and holding hearings, but it was not charged with making recommendations under the White House order that created it. As a result, much of the some 200 pages of materials the commission released Thursday night are history and context for reform proposals.

A final report from the committee, which was meeting Friday, is expected in about a month and would go to the president then. Even when the commission does finish its work, however, any proposals for change would be met with serious political headwinds particularly with midterm elections looming and the chance that Democrats could lose control of Congress.

The current makeup of the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, and key issues that are likely to be addressed by the court could shape the conversation in upcoming midterm elections. There are two growing pressure points: abortion and voting rights. The court’s decision last month not to block a Texas abortion law from going into effect has left the state with the nation’s most restrictive measures. Challenges to the law are ongoing and the court is already hearing a major abortion case in December that could reshape abortion rights nationwide. There also stand to be legal challenges to GOP efforts to restrict access to the ballot in several battleground states.