Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson, Sen. Ed Markey, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and Rep. Mondaire Jones announce legislation Thursday to expand the number of seats on the U.S. Supreme Court outside the high court.
Washington … News Time
Democrats in the US Congress have introduced a bill that would add four more judges to the US Supreme Court. If the bill passes, the number of judges in the Supreme Court could increase from nine to 13. The bill is being opposed by Republicans in Congress. The bill was introduced to both houses of Congress on Thursday on the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., by Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat, and Jerrold Nadler, a member of the House of Representatives. Hank Johnson and Mondaire Jones did so through a news conference.
President Joe Biden announced the formation of a bipartisan commission last Friday, and said he would consider possible changes to the US Supreme Court. These changes include determining the length of service of judges. At the moment, a US Supreme Court judge can serve for life. Congressional Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not yet backed the bill, while some Democrats have said they will support the bill only after the report of a commission set up by President Biden comes to light. Former President Donald Trump appointed three judges to the US Supreme Court during his presidency, giving conservative judges a six-to-three majority.
Republicans in Congress are opposed to any such move to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court. The term court packing has been used in American history for this process. According to experts, the term court packing was introduced in 1937 under US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The aim was to appoint new judges to the Supreme Court through a reform bill or to replace judges who were not about to retire. This would have made it possible for the US government at the time not to risk declaring any bill unconstitutional.
Democrats and liberal thinkers believe that the number of free-thinking judges in the US Supreme Court is too conservative to protect certain US laws on abortion, civil rights, gun control and access to health care. The choice should be in proportion to the judges. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal-minded judge in the current US Supreme Court, has increased the number of conservative judges. Following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Donald Trump nominated Connie Barrett, a female judge, to the Supreme Court seat that became vacant. Following the appointment, the number of conservative judges in the US Supreme Court dropped from three to six.
The US Supreme Court has traditionally had nine judges since 1869, but Congress has the power to change that number. However, some experts say that a constitutional amendment will be needed to fix the tenure of Supreme Court judges. There is also an opinion that an order can be issued for this.
