Today, April 15, Democrats in Congress will unveil a proposed bill that seeks to expand the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13.
Democrats have long fumed about the current makeup of the Supreme Court since former President Trump appointed conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett to the bench. All were confirmed during his presidency.
While Democrats in Congress appear hell-bent on passing this bill, they refuse to consider the devastating harm and resulting precedent such a move would create, including the erosion of the American system of checks and balances between Congress (legislative branch) and the judiciary (judicial branch).
Packing the court essentially means increasing the number of justices. Currently there are nine sitting Supreme Court justices. Given that the Constitution does not specify how many justices may reside on the Court, this number is entirely up to Congress. Interestingly, Congress has not changed the number of justices on the nation’s highest court in 150 years.
The Left’s push to pack the Court is not surprising. Prior to the 2020 election, Pete Buttigieg, former Democrat mayor of South Bend, Indiana, indicated that increasing the number of justices would prevent the Supreme Court from being viewed as a political institution. Stated Aaron Belkin, a political science professor and executive director of Pack the Courts, “Court packing is integral to any effort to restore democracy.”
The New York Post recently cited Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a co-sponsor of the recent bill, who said that adding justices “will shore up the public’s confidence in the court and its legitimacy in the public’s eyes.”
Really?
If packing the Supreme Court is such a good idea, why hasn’t it been done in 150 years? Also, why have several very prominent Democrats publicly warned against such a move? As reported by the the Daily Wire:
Court packing is so toxic that even socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) does not support it and has warned that if Democrats do it then “the next time the Republicans are in power they will do the same thing.”
Leftist Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a registered Democrat, cautioned this week during a speech at Harvard that packing the court will diminish “confidence in the courts, and in the rule of law itself,” which will lead to “diminishing the court’s power, including its power to act as a ‘check’ on the other branches.”
Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was against packing the courts. Ginsburg suggested it would make the Court appear more partisan and trigger a constant expansion every time there is a power change in Washington, D.C.
It is safe to say that none of these individuals’ opinions are aligned with the political “leanings” of the Supreme Court’s current majority. Yet all recognize some of the devastating consequences associated with packing the nation’s highest court.
For example, while Democrats currently control Congress and the presidency, what would prevent Republicans and Democrats from engaging in a tit-for-tat when control ultimately changes hands? If this happens (and it will), the Supreme Court will be viewed as nothing more than a political and partisan arm/extension of Congress, as opposed to a check on congressional power. This is not the role of the Supreme Court or any of the nation’s other courts. Contrary to Senator Markey’s assertion that packing the court would increase public confidence, doing so would actually have the opposite effect.
Proponents of the recent bill claim that it is necessary to restore balance to the Supreme Court owing to [alleged] “norm-breaking” moves by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and because the Right has (allegedly) “hijacked” the court. This conclusion is simply nonsensical and illogical. First, all justices appointed by President Trump and subsequently confirmed resulted from a vacancy on the court. Additionally, there is a major distinction between lawfully appointing a justice when a vacancy occurs and adding additional seats/justices to promote a political agenda.
In reality, this bill is yet another step by the Left to assert power and control over the American people. The consequences of packing the court with far-left justices cannot be overstated. Currently, the Supreme Court is one of the only entities standing between the Left’s insatiable thirst for power and maintaining our basic constitutional freedoms.
Biden and his Democratic colleagues in Congress wish to significantly erode our constitutional rights, particularly those enshrined in the First and Second Amendments. They also want open borders, control of our elections (H.R. 1), and to eliminate the filibuster (among many other things). Is there any doubt as to why they want to pack the court?
Fortunately, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who supports Biden’s newly created presidential commission on the Supreme Court, indicated that she would refuse to bring the bill to the floor for a vote at the present time. However, as reported by the New York Post, Pelosi did not rule out the possibility of packing the nation’s highest court. To the contrary, she indicated that it was an idea that should be considered. If Democrats ultimately succeed, they will be that much closer to achieving their ultimate goal, which has always been unbridled power and control.
Republicans must use every legal recourse to prevent this from happening.
