Democrats Introduce Legislation To Expand Number Of Supreme Court Justices

Congressional Democrats plan to introduce legislation to expand the number of Supreme Court Justices from nine to 13 on Thursday (April 15.)

The bill, led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and co-sponsored by Reps. Hank Johnson (D- Ga,) and Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), would be crucial in the struggle between the Democratic and Republican parties over the future of the court after former President Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices during his only four-year term in office, which included one just days before losing the 2020 presidential election, NBC News reports.

The Supreme Court could expand through an act of Congress, but the legislation is unlikely to become law given the party's slim majorities, with some Democratic lawmakers, as well as President Joe Biden, opposing the idea. President Biden has said publicly that he's "not a fan" of expanding the supreme court.

However, the legislation would represent the ongoing progressive fury directed at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky,) for denying former President Barack Obama's pick to nominate Merrick Garland for associate justice in 2016, citing the then-upcoming election, but confirming Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett during the week prior to the 2020 election.

The anger against McConnell within the Democratic party has withstood and the new push seems to confirm that it won't end, despite the party recently taking control of the White House and Senate, as well as remaining in control of the House.

"This bill marks a new era where Democrats finally stop conceding the Supreme Court to Republicans," said Brian Fallon, a former Senate Democratic leadership aide and a co-founder of Demand Justice, who described the court as "broken and in need of reform" when discussing the bill with NBC News. "Our task now is to build a grassroots movement that puts pressure on every Democrat in Congress to support this legislation because it is the only way to restore balance to the court and protect our democracy."

The Supreme Court had previously changed since in size since its establishment in 1789, but has remained at nine justices since 1869.

Photo: Getty Images


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