US House Democrats Block GOP Bid To Lock Supreme Court At Nine Justices

Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday blocked a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that sought to permanently cap the Supreme Court at nine justices, defeating a measure Republicans had positioned as a campaign issue ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

The amendment failed 212-206, falling well short of the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment to clear the House. Republicans currently hold 218 seats in the chamber, compared with 214 for Democrats.

GOP Targets Democratic ‘Court-Packing’ Proposals

House Republicans brought the measure to a vote to highlight Democratic proposals to expand the Supreme Court, particularly after a series of conservative rulings on abortion and voting rights.

Republicans argued that permanently fixing the number of justices at nine would prevent Democrats from expanding the court if they regain control of Congress after the midterms. President Donald Trump’s three appointments have given the court a 6-3 conservative majority.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the vote, saying that protecting the Supreme Court’s structure should not be a partisan issue.

“Defending the integrity of the Supreme Court shouldn’t be a controversial vote,” Johnson said after the measure was defeated, Reuters reported.

The report further stated that the Democrats, however, accused Republicans of using the vote for political messaging. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland called it another “partisan power grab by MAGA” and criticised the Trump administration over issues including inflation, war, corruption and the national debt.

The vote is part of a longstanding practice in Congress, where both parties have used legislation unlikely to pass as “messaging bills” to force lawmakers to take positions on contentious issues ahead of elections.

Why The Supreme Court’s Size Is A Political Flashpoint

The US Constitution does not specify the number of justices who must sit on the Supreme Court. Congress has changed the size of the court several times in American history, with the number ranging from five to 10 before settling at nine in 1869.

The most prominent modern attempt to change its size came in 1937, when Democratic President Franklin D Roosevelt proposed adding up to six justices after the court struck down parts of his New Deal programme. The proposal was widely criticised as an attempt to “pack” the court and was ultimately rejected.

The Supreme Court’s current conservative majority has made its composition a major political issue. Since 2021, the court has overturned the constitutional right to abortion, expanded gun rights, curtailed the authority of federal agencies and cleared the way for significant elements of Trump’s second-term agenda.

Democrats have previously proposed legislation to expand the court from nine to 13 justices. Republicans have argued that such a move would undermine the court’s independence, while Democrats maintain that Congress must retain the option to alter its size in response to what they view as an ideological imbalance.

Even if Wednesday’s Republican amendment had passed the House, it would have faced significant hurdles in the Senate and would ultimately have required ratification by 38 of the 50 states to become part of the Constitution.