GOP Reps Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Keep Supreme Court at 9 seats
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher is leading an effort to save the Supreme Court by introducing a constitutional amendment to limit the number of justices to nine.
The proposed amendment is being co-sponsored by five other members of the House GOP, including Reps. Chris Jacobs of New York, Ken Buck of Colorado, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
The move follows an executive order issued by President Joe Biden that will establish a commission to analyze so-called “reforms” to the Supreme Court, including court packing.
Though Biden has remained notoriously tight-lipped about his own opinions on expanding the Supreme Court, Democrats hope that they can use the commission to dilute the power of the conservative majority on the nation’s highest court.
Buck issued a scathing tweet on the issue Friday, saying that “President Biden is caving to far-left fringe activists and attacking the independence of the federal judiciary.”
President Biden is caving to far-left fringe activists and attacking the independence of the federal judiciary. https://t.co/l23QKDX2tu
— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) April 9, 2021
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also blasted the thinly veiled attempt to pack the Supreme Court with leftist justices, according to The Associated Press, calling it “a direct assault on our nation’s independent judiciary and another sign of the Far Left’s influence over the Biden administration.”
Democrats have long accused Republicans of court packing, or manipulating the membership of the courts to fulfill partisan goals. All of former President Donald Trump’s nominations to the Supreme Court were made to fill an existing vacancy, however, whereas this new Democratic court packing effort is an overt attempt to manipulate the constitutional framework of the United States to ensure the supremacy of petty progressive politics.
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It is a good thing then, that Republicans in the House are taking a stand against this assault on our republic.
For too long, too many Republicans have failed to stand up and make their voices heard when dealing with issues of constitutional gravity. And the fact is that America sorely needs to find someone in the legislature with the backbone required to keep America free.
Moreover, though this most recent fight over the Supreme Court is only just beginning, the message of Gallagher’s proposed amendment is timeless: Conservatives will not stand idly by while their rights and values are decimated.
Indeed, in the Senate as well, there are some sparks of hope for saving the Supreme Court.
Sen. Ted Cruz introduced similar proposals last year aimed at maintaining the nine-justice makeup of the Supreme Court and preventing unilateral changes to the court by Democrats.
“Don’t be fooled by Democrats’ hyperbolic rhetoric,” the Texas Republican said of the proposals. “Packing the Court means one very specific thing: expanding the number of justices to achieve a political outcome. It is wrong. It is an abuse of power. Democrats are endeavoring to redefine the language to set the stage for a partisan assault on the Court.”
Responding to Biden’s executive order this week, Cruz also posted a tweet underscoring the critical nature of the ongoing legal battles over the court and calling on all Americans to preserve the “integrity and independence of the Judiciary.”
I urge my colleagues to act swiftly and pass my proposals to prevent Democrats from expanding the Supreme Court so America can preserve the integrity and independence of the Judiciary. pic.twitter.com/GW7bXJpmLv
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 12, 2021
What remains is for Republicans and decent-minded Democrats in both the House and the Senate to unite against such a brazen attack on the constitutional rule of law. Conservatives have been divided on matters of ethics and law for too long.
It is time for a new conservative consensus to assert itself, and to champion the Constitution so that the republic might continue to flourish.
To do that, however, the Supreme Court must be secured.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
