Why do some Democrats want 13 justices on the Supreme Court?
The answer isn’t complicated. Thirteen gives them control.
On a recent episode of At the Core, I played a clip of longtime Democratic Congressman James Clyburn openly supporting expanding the Supreme Court from nine justices to 13. With six conservative justices and three liberal justices currently on the Court, adding four new liberal justices would immediately flip it to a 7-6 liberal majority.
That’s why the number matters. This isn’t about improving the Supreme Court. It’s about controlling it.
For more than a century, the Court has operated with nine justices. When a vacancy occurs, the President nominates a replacement, and the Senate considers that nominee. If you want to change the direction of the Court, you win elections, maintain control of the Senate, and fill vacancies as they occur. That’s the system.
But court packing offers a shortcut. Get control of the White House and Senate, add enough seats to create the majority you want, and suddenly you have the votes to determine the outcome of some of the most consequential cases facing our country.
And think about what is at stake. Religious liberty. Parental rights. The sanctity of life. Marriage and family. The constitutional freedoms we rely on every day. The Supreme Court was never intended to become another political body whose size changes whenever one party doesn’t like its decisions.
We cannot allow that precedent to be established. Because once court packing becomes an acceptable way to gain political power, there is nothing stopping the next majority from doing it again – and again.
The integrity of the Supreme Court is bigger than any one election or political party. It’s about whether we’re willing to preserve the constitutional system itself.
Listen to the full episode here.
Sincerely,
