Bill Would Urge Congress to Resist Packing Supreme Court

Rep. Sara Walsh wants the members of Congress to stand strong against a potential effort by President Biden to pack the United States Supreme Court with more liberal-leaning justices. Walsh is the sponsor of HCR 15, which urges Congress to propose and adopt the Keep Nine Amendment, which would permanently fix the size of the Supreme Court at nine Justices. 

Walsh noted the Supreme Court has been composed of nine Justices since 1869. Prior to that, the court size had been expanded or shrunk for political advantage. However, after 1869, a tradition developed to keep the Court free of political interference. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to expand the number of Justices in 1937, but his plan failed when it received strong bipartisan opposition.

With President Biden promising to create a commission to examine the possibility of expanding the court, Walsh said it’s important for Congress to take decisive action to protect the integrity of the United States Supreme Court.

“A nine-member Supreme Court has served our nation well for more than 150 years and we must do all we can to safeguard this branch of government from political manipulation by the executive branch,” said Walsh, R-Ashland. She added, “The Keep Nine Amendment would simply add language to our United States Constitution that would say the court is composed of nine Justices. With this we can protect against future court packing efforts by either party.”

Walsh said the Keep Nine Amendment has received bipartisan support in Congress and has the backing of a bipartisan coalition of former State Attorneys General. She said polling data has shown voters would support the change by a more than 3:1 margin.

“This is an idea with widespread support and even the late Justice Ginsburg spoke out against court packing. I ask my colleagues to join me in bipartisan fashion to support this resolution so that we can urge Congress to do what’s right to protect the independence of the Judiciary.”

Walsh’s resolution currently awaits assignment to committee for further discussion. Similar resolutions have already been filed in Georgia, Indiana, and Arizona, and more will be introduced in other states in the coming days.