With Democrats calling for expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is proposing a constitutional amendment to limit it to nine justices.
Prominent Democrats, including former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and presidential candidates U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, have mulled over expanding the Supreme Court
After writing a piece on the subject for Fox News last week, Rubio called for adding an amendment to the Constitution to limit the Supreme Court to nine justices, a policy in place since 1869 despite efforts--most notably from President Franklin D. Roosevelt back in 1937--to change it.
Rubio teamed up with Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven of North Dakota, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Steve Daines of Montana, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Mike Lee and Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Todd Young of Indiana teamed up to unveil the amendment on Monday. U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., introduced a companion measure in the U.S. House with U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-SC, as a cosponsor.
"The Democrats' court packing proposal represents the latest shortsighted effort to undermine America's confidence in our institutions and our democracy,” Rubio said. “America’s institutions are far from perfect. But over the past two centuries, they have provided a framework for our nation to become the most dynamic, most vibrant, and most exceptional nation in all of human history.
“To prevent the delegitimizing of the Supreme Court, I am introducing a constitutional amendment to keep the number of seats at nine. Our institutions matter. Our Constitution matters. And we should fight to protect them,” Rubio added.
“Packing the Supreme Court would further politicize our judiciary system and erode public trust,” said Sasse. “There shouldn’t be red or blue jerseys on the Supreme Court, just nine black robes. Our constitutional system works best when judges don’t write laws, but instead faithfully apply the law to the facts of the case. Packing the court is an end run around Congress and the American public to turn judges into unelected super-legislators. That’s not the Supreme Court’s job, and that’s not what the American people want.”
“Society is only as strong as its institutions, and we should resist any effort to treat the Supreme Court like one of the elected branches. Recent court-packing proposals are transparent attempts to rig the Court based on political preferences. This constitutional amendment would ensure the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court for generations to come,” said Romney.
Rubio’s resolution was sent to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Gallagher’s proposal was sent to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
