New Constitutional Amendment Would Prevent "Court-Packing"

Senator Marco Rubio is responding to a call from Democrats to expand the U.S. Supreme Court. In turn, the Florida Senator is proposing a constitutional amendment that would limit the Supreme Court to nine justices.

Recently, Democratic Presidential Candidates Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Pete Buttigieg have made the argument for expanding the Supreme Court, but Senator Rubio has teamed up with Republican colleagues in the Senate to introduce a resolution that would prevent court-packing.

The Senator wrote an opinion piece for Fox News, admitting that “most Americans view every branch of government with disdain.” And, he asserted that “Americans need to view one another as friends, neighbors and coworkers – not Republicans or Democrats.”

He explained that this is leading to “court packing” calls, which “is quickly becoming a litmus test for 2020 Democratic candidates as this ugly, winner-take-all rhetoric gains prominence in progressive circles.”

So, in an effort to ensure that the Supreme Court is not weaponized or politicized, Rubio explained that the resolution is meant “to prevent the delegitimizing of the Supreme Court.” He added that the constitutional amendment would “keep the number of seats at nine” because “our institutions matter. Our Constitution matter. And we should fight to protect them.”

The resolution was directed to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee this week, and a companion measure in the U.S. House was introduced by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher and sent to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Senator Mitt Romney, a cosponsor, detailed his support for the constitutional amendment, saying that “society is only as strong as its institutions, and we should resist any effort to treat the Supreme Court like one of the elected branches. Recent court-packing proposals are transparent attempts to rig the Court based on political preferences. This constitutional amendment would ensure the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court for generations to come.”