U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, representing West Virginia, has collaborated with 17 Republican colleagues in the Senate to propose a constitutional amendment aimed at maintaining nine justices on the Supreme Court bench. The effort is led by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas. If passed by Congress, the proposal will be sent to states for ratification.
Senator Capito stated, “A nine Justice court has worked for our country for more than 150 years. Increasing that number in a partisan effort to achieve a desired policy result is a never-ending proposition. If court-packing were pursued, respect for the Supreme Court would plummet and the checks and balances of our constitutional order would be threatened. We should preserve our independent judiciary by closing the door to the Democrats radical court packing proposals.”
In recent years, some prominent Democrats have expressed support for expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court. Former Vice President Kamala Harris remarked, “We are on the verge of a crisis of confidence in the Supreme Court […] We have to take this challenge head-on, and everything is on the table to do that.”
Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts stated online: “Mitch McConnell set the precedent. No Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election year. If he violates it, when Democrats control the Senate in the next Congress, we must abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.”
Additionally, Senator Mazie Hirono from Hawaii described court-packing as “long-overdue court reform,” while Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts commented: “I’m open. […] Actually, I mean, we could. […] Look, there are a lot of different ways to do it. The number of people on the Supreme Court is not constitutionally constricted.”
Some Democrats have also criticized Republicans’ efforts to confirm Judge Barrett as “court-packing,” which they argue is misleading.
