Left-wing lawmakers are angered by the draft report put out by the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (PCSCUS) on expanding the Supreme Court.
Progressive members of the House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) said the commission’s report is insufficient and Democrats need to pass a law to pack the court.
The initial report put out by the PCSCUS Thursday said the group was divided on adding whether to add more Supreme Court justices, taking it from 9 to 13 on the bench.
“Meanwhile, even some Democratic critics of the court oppose expansion, warning that any attempt to expand the court or otherwise alter its structure would threaten the independence of the court and its role in the constitutional system,” the commission wrote.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday that the president would not comment until after the commission submitted its final report.
Currently, the Supreme Court is made up of three liberal and six conservative justices, the last three of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump. Since the last appointment of justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020, progressives like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have been calling for adding justices to guarantee that laws that Democrats enact will not be overturned by the court.
“The GOP’s rigged bench is contorting our laws and issuing decisions that do not reflect, understand, or serve the people the Court is meant to represent,“ wrote the progressive lawmakers. ”Voting rights, abortion rights, immigration rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s rights are all at stake. We need more than the Commission’s report. We must pass legislation to expand the Supreme Court.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have been critical of any change to the Supreme Court, especially increasing the number of justices.
Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Democrats are looking for an excuse to add justices to the court to enact their agenda.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has been an outspoken critic of progressive policies coming from the Biden administration, voiced his objection to the effort.