In the News

Republican lawmakers are blasting plans by congressional Democrats to introduce legislation expanding the Supreme Court by four justices.

The Democrats' proposal is aimed at breaking the conservative grip on the court, Reuters reported.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., Hank Johnson, D-Ga., and Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., are expected to announce Thursday the introduction of the legislation in both chambers.

Republicans quickly attacked the plan.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., offered an amendment to a bill analyzing reparations for Blacks.

The Washington Times said Johnson's amendment denounced the plan to increase the size of the court from nine justices to 13.

"The idea of packing the Supreme Court is so dangerous, we have to address it now," Johnson said.

Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., tweeted: "The cat is out of the bag. Dems will pursue power at any cost. Make no mistake. They will vote to pack #SCOTUS next."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also condemned Democrats for their plans.

"Imagine if we reduced the number from nine to five and just kept the Republicans," Jordan is quoted by the Times. "You guys would go crazy."

And he added in a tweet: "Does expanding the Supreme Court count as infrastructure too?"

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also took to Twitter to criticize  the Democrats.

"Packing the court goes against everything we believe as Americans," McCarthy tweeted Thursday. "But make no mistake: this is about power and control. Democrats want to dismantle our institutions, including the courts, to enact their socialist agenda."

And the Times reported that Mike Davis, president of the conservative Article III Project, said the Democrats should be "ashamed" of themselves.

"Democrats who would destroy the independence and legitimacy of the high court must be disavowed as political pariahs by every last one of their colleague," he said. "Packing the Supreme Court would be a declaration of war that could not be undone. President Biden and Democrats in Congress should tread extremely carefully. Packing the Supreme Court is a red line they must not cross. If they actually love their country, they should stand down immediately."

The Democrats' move to expand the court comes even as President Joe Biden named a panel to study reforms to the high court, such as adding justices or instituting term limits.

The commission will tackle the "merits and legality" of specific high-court reform proposals. Along with the contentious idea of expanding the court, reform advocates have recently pushed for term limits for the justices.

Chairing the panel are Bob Bauer, a New York University law school professor, and former White House counsel and Yale Law School Professor Cristina Rodriguez, former deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department.