Democrats unveil court-packing plan
On Thursday, a group of congressional Democrats introduced legislation to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, in a written statement announcing the proposal, initially sought to appeal to considerations such as the growing population of the country and the growing complexity of legal issues. It wasn’t long before the facade was dropped and the proposal was revealed to be little more than partisan retribution about the fact that six out of the nine justices on the court were nominated by Republican presidents.
“Some people will say we’re packing the court,” said Nadler at a news conference. “We’re not packing. We’re unpacking. Senator McConnell and the Republicans packed it over the last couple of years.”
“Republicans stole the court’s majority, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation completing their crime spree,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachussetts. “Of all the damage Donald Trump did to our Constitution, this stands as one of his greatest travesties.”
The poorly conceived word games of Nadler and overdone handwringing by Markey
about perfectly lawful and constitutional court appointment aside, the proposal has been met with little interest from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “I have no plans to bring it to the floor,” she said when asked about the proposal.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, likewise indicated that he’s not ready to sign on to such a proposal.
The generally muted response to what would be a dramatic overhaul of the judicial branch likely reflects an awareness on the part of Democratic leaders that courtpacking with a 50-50 Senate and just after an election that saw Republicans gain a dozen seats in the House is highly risky for Democrats.
It’s bad policy and bad politics. Justice Stephen Breyer and the late Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg cautioned against politically motivated structural changes to the court, noting that doing so would undermine public trust in the Supreme Court. President Joe Biden, who as a candidate spoke against courtpacking, took office on a campaign to unite Americans.
It’s hard to think of anything more divisive than restructuring the court for partisan ends.