Democrats renew push to expand Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (TND) — Some congressional Democrats are renewing their push to expand the Supreme Court to balance out its heavy conservative tilt after the high court has made several controversial rulings that have sparked uproar and calls to change how it operates.

Democratic lawmakers have frequently targeted the Supreme Court since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and has found itself in the middle of a string of controversies. Several justices have been embroiled in ethics scandals over their financial disclosures, prompting calls for a code of ethics for justices to operate under.

Public scrutiny of the court is also mounting as it makes controversial decisions that reverse previous legal precedents like Chevron deference or another ruling giving presidents some legal immunity. The approval rating for the court has declined over the last several years as part of a larger trend with declining public faith in government institutions.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called on Congress to pass legislation that would expand the high court and argued that there is precedent for the legislative branch to determine the size of the Supreme Court.

“The rules aren't sacred to Republicans, and neither are our constitutional rights. Congress must respond. If we fail to act, it will only get worse. The court is prepared to revoke every day Americans rights, reshape the checks that hold the president accountable and reject the fundamental principles that created those rights,” Markey said at a press conference in front of the court.

Markey and the other Democratic cosponsors first introduced the legislation two years ago in the wake of the Roe ruling. It was reintroduced again earlier this Congress but is unlikely to come up for a vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate as the party is not unanimous in supporting adding justices to the high court and the bill is dead on arrival in the Republican-led House.

The bill would add four justices to the high court for a total of 13, equal to the number of appeals courts in the U.S.

“Over the course of the last year policymakers, including President Biden and the American people, have also concluded that we are dealing with a hyperpartisan, ideologically rigid, right wing reactionary, arrogant, unaccountable, reckless and corrupt United States Supreme Court. The result is a fractured democracy,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, R-Ga., who is the lead sponsor of the House version.

Republicans have criticized Democratic attempts to expand the court or install a code of ethics for justices to act under as politicizing and weaponizing the court because they do not like its judicial opinions.