by Korey Moore, Current Staff Writer
A stunning new initiative has been introduced by a group of Washington lawmakers affiliated with the Democratic Party; one to reform the highest court of the nation.
A bloc of Democratic congressmen has drafted a proposal to expand the U.S. Supreme Court, one of Washington’s most fundamental organs, from the traditional nine justices to a new thirteen. Such a measure was prompted by the controversy arising from the appointment of conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court by the party’s opponent and rival, the Republican party, just days prior to the 2020 presidential election. Per Senator Edward J. Markey, a Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts who leads the movement to pass this bill, “[the] Republicans stole the court’s majority, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation completing their crime spree.”
Markey and the other proponents of the bill seek to “restore balance” to the court following Barrett’s confirmation, which expanded the court’s conservative majority from five justices to six. This initiative, if successful, will be the first structural change to the Supreme Court in over 150 years, since the last expansion of the Supreme Court by Congress in 1869, which increased the quantity of justices from 7 to 9 to appease U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, making it a political maneuver by the Republicans, and also concluding a decade-long national feud regarding the size of the Court.
While this current proposal is certainly also a political maneuver, this time by the Democrats, one of Markey’s chief rationales is that the aforementioned reform was configured to have the quantity of Supreme Court justices correspond with that of the circuit courts nationwide, which has since expanded to 13, and it is desired that the Supreme Court reflect this.
The opposition to this initiative, consisting of both Democrats and Republicans, including U.S. President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, regard this initiative as an effort at court packing, a matter of which Biden is “not a fan,” although he did agree to launch a White House investigation into potential Supreme Court reform, one that is projected to last six months. Pelosi has stated that she bears “no plans to bring [this legislation] to the floor,” favoring Biden’s approach.
Republicans, with their conservative bloc infuriated at this proposal, have suggested that they will propose a constitutional amendment to restrict the Court to 9 justices. The filibuster that such a party has already established may serve as an effective means of blocking the passage of this legislation.
Congress does possess the power to expand the Supreme Court by law, a power exercised in the 1869 reform, resolving any question regarding the constitutionality of the bill.
Supreme Court reform has always been a question, with liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was controversially replaced by Barrett, being a known opponent, as is another liberal justice, Stephen Breyer, who is facing growing calls to resign. Attorney General Merrick Garland also expressed opposition to this initiative, viewing it as an effort to acquire “additional power.”