Democrats Unveil Long-Shot Plan To Expand Size Of Supreme Court From 9 To 13

From left, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., hold a news conference outside the Supreme Court to announce legislation to expand the number of seats on the high court.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Liberal congressional Democrats unveiled a proposal Thursday to expand the number of seats on the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13 — a move Republicans have blasted as “court packing” and which has almost no chance of being voted on after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has “no plans to bring it to the floor.”

The measure, the Judiciary Act of 2021, is being co-sponsored by Reps. Jerrold Nadler, chair of the House Judiciary Committee; Hank Johnson of Georgia; Mondaire Jones of New York; and Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

“We are not packing the Supreme Court, we are unpacking it,” Nadler said at a news conference in front of the Supreme Court.