Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, is once again championing a constitutional amendment to cap the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court at nine, as debates over court reforms intensify. Cruz, who first introduced the amendment in 2021 and 2023, is reintroducing the proposal in response to growing calls from Democrats to expand the court.
Cruz’s amendment, now supported by 15 cosponsors, including notable Republican senators such as Bill Cassidy (LA), Chuck Grassley (IA), Mike Crapo (ID), Thom Tillis (NC), and John Cornyn (TX), seeks to preserve the integrity and independence of the judiciary. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cruz argued that Democrats’ push for court reforms is a thinly veiled attempt to manipulate the court to achieve policy goals they have struggled to pass through the legislative process.
“Such a move would be a direct assault on the design of our Constitution, which is designed to ensure the Supreme Court remains a non-partisan guardian of the rule of law,” Cruz said. “This amendment is a badly-needed check on their efforts to undermine the integrity of the Court.”
Senator Grassley echoed Cruz’s sentiments, stressing that the amendment would protect the Supreme Court’s independence from political pressures. “Democrats’ radical court-packing scheme would erase the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and destroy historic precedent,” Grassley said. “The Court is a co-equal branch of government, and our Keep Nine Amendment will ensure that it remains independent from political pressure.”
The issue of Supreme Court reform has gained significant momentum in recent years, particularly after the landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. This ruling, which ended federal abortion protections, ignited fierce debates about the court’s composition, with many Democrats calling for reforms such as expanding the number of justices or imposing term limits.
Democrats have been particularly vocal in their calls to expand the court, proposing legislation to increase the number of justices to 13. In October 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris entertained the idea of expanding the court during a CNN town hall. Harris argued that a reform of the court was necessary, particularly in the wake of decisions like Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also called for significant changes to the Supreme Court, using social media to advocate for a radical overhaul of the judicial system. This push aligns with broader calls from Democrats, including key figures like Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who have consistently advocated for court expansion.
In May 2023, these lawmakers reintroduced the Judiciary Act of 2023, which proposed expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices, arguing that such a move would address what they see as an undemocratic concentration of power on the court.
However, Cruz and his Republican colleagues remain firm in their opposition, arguing that expanding the court would erode its legitimacy and independence, turning it into a political tool rather than an impartial arbiter of the law.
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nicew
Gotta love how the Dems tried to redefine the pejorative term “court packing” by using it to refer to Trump’s appointment of four non-Leftist judges. And their recommendation to Trump’s “packing the court” with conservative justices could only be remedied by increasing the number of justices; i.e., by packing the court. Marxists are masters of one thing only: Doublespeak.