Rep. Mark Green on Thursday unveiled a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would prevent Democrats from expanding the number of seats on the Supreme Court.
Green, R-Tenn., plans to introduce his legislation Thursday, and it will state that the Supreme Court “shall be composed of nine justices.” It also holds that the court will be reduced to nine justices if Democrats succeed in expanding the number of seats before Green’s amendment is ratified.
“The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation,” it adds.
“The temptation to create a Court of super-legislators must be resisted,” Green said Thursday. “Limiting the number of seats to the nine we have currently would help ensure the U.S. Supreme Court remain an impartial branch beholden to the Constitution and no political party.”
He also urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to back his proposal. “If Speaker Pelosi values her role, she should support this amendment and defend her branch of government,” he said.
Green’s proposal is a response to the increasing number of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who say they are open to packing the Supreme Court in order to dilute the effect of conservative justices. Those who have said they could consider the idea include former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachussetts, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
[Opinion: Power-hungry, court-packing Democrats are making Trump’s worst tendencies seem mild]
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other progressive leaders — along with activist groups like Pack the Courts and Demand Justice — have also been pushing Democratic candidates to embrace the idea of court packing.
Green’s legislation may not go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled House. But over in the Republican-controlled Senate, Sen.Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he plans on introducing similar legislation.
“We must prevent further destabilization of essential institutions,” Rubio tweeted. “Court packing is quickly becoming a litmus test for 2020 Democratic candidates. Therefore I will be introducing a constitutional amendment to keep the number of seats on #SCOTUS at 9.”
Rubio also accused the proponents of expanding the court of doing so to advance a political agenda. “Proponents of a Democratic-led court-packing scheme foresee an impending ‘crisis’ – one that they use to justify their highly partisan tactics,” he said.
Getting their language in the Constitution would require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate, after which three-fourths of the states would have to ratify it.
Although the number of Supreme Court justices is not fixed in place by the Constitution, it has been set at nine for 150 years. The last real attempt at packing the court came from former President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930’s, and it was met with opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.
Once seen as a fringe issue, the idea of “packing” the Supreme Court has gained steam in the wake of the confirmation of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Democrats are also upset that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., refused to consider former President Barack Obama’s nominee in 2016, and instead waited for the results of the election that President Trump won.
