Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is leading a group of Republican senators in introducing a constitutional amendment that would rebuff any attempt by a future president or Congress to pack the United States Supreme Court.
Cruz’s proposed amendment simply states, “the Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine justices.” The amendment is co-sponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., John Kennedy, R-La., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Mike Braun, R-Ind.
“The Democrats’ answer to a Supreme Court that is dedicated to upholding the rule of law and the Constitution is to pack it with liberals who will rule the way they want. The Supreme Court should be independent, not inflated by every new administration. That’s why I’ve introduced a constitutional amendment to permanently keep the number of justices at nine,” Cruz said in a statement.
If passed by Congress, his amendment would head to the states for ratification. Cruz originally introduced the amendment in 2021, in response to statements from Democrats suggesting that they might seek to add more justices to the Supreme Court to reduce the influence of the three conservative justices appointed by former President Donald Trump.
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In October 2020, just before the presidential election, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said “everything is on the table” during an appearance on MSNBC when asked what Democrats could do about the court if they regained control of the Senate that year.
Calls then intensified after the Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision last year. “Right-wing extremists have hijacked the Supreme Court of the United States,” progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., tweeted last year after a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked. “We must #ExpandTheCourt to rebalance it and defend our basic rights, including the constitutional right to an abortion.”
“For years the left has been desperate to pack the court to promote their radical agenda. We must ensure that we stay true to the court’s founding principles, maintain the precedent of nine justices, and keep the Democrats from their brazen attempts to rig our democracy,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
House Republicans introduced a companion amendment in January, waring that Democratic lawmakers will “weaponize” the high court if they gain control of Congress.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed back in June 2022 that President Biden does not support court-packing during an Air Force One press gaggle.
“That is something that the president does not agree with,,” Jean-Pierre told reporters during the gaggle. “That is not something that he wants to do.”
Fox News’ Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.