Is there any legal or procedural reason why the GOP can't pack the Court after the Schumer shutdown ends?
No.
There is no legal or procedural barrier preventing Republicans from expanding the Supreme Court (commonly called "court packing") once the ongoing government shutdown ends.
The number of Supreme Court justices is not fixed by the Constitution; Article III, Section 1 vests judicial power in "one supreme Court" but leaves the details to Congress.
Congress has changed the Court's size seven times in history (from 6 to 7 in 1789, up to 10 in 1863, down to 7 in 1866, and up to 9 in 1869, where it has remained).
A simple statute passed by Congress and signed by the president (or overriding a veto) is all that's required. No constitutional amendment needed.
Right now, Republicans hold the presidency, a 53-47 Senate majority, and a narrow House majority (219-213).
After the Schumer shutdown ends, Republicans could pass a court-expansion bill on a party-line vote.
"I don't wanna", I hear you say.
I don't either.
But if we don't, all the things Republicans have accomplished will be undone.
if we don't, all the things Republicans want to accomplish in the foreseeable future won't happen.
"Well, maybe. But, wait", I hear you say.
"The Senate filibuster requires 60 votes"
"Ha", say I!
Trump-hating Democrats don't have the votes to block it. It would mean that the GOP majority in the House would need to stick together, and in the Senate, at least 51 votes would be needed. The GOP has 53 in the Senate. Even if Rand Paul and a couple more sit this one out by voting "present", guess who can vote to break a tie in the Senate?
"But", I hear you wail, "If the GOP succeeds, couldn't Democrats do the same thing the next time they control Congress"?
"Of course", I say.
That's a given in any case. Haven't many Trump-hating Democrats already said they intend to pack the Court as soon as they get the chance?
Why, yes. Yes they have. I have the receipts.
We MUST strike first.
Why?
If the GOP packs the court now, while they can, they can quash a lot of the lawfare that's currently clogging the District Courts with obstructionism.
If the GOP hesitates, they may not get another chance for decades, because the Trump-hating Democrats will raise the bar to 13 or more Justices as soon as they can.
How do I know? Lots of 'em have said so, and on this question, I believe them.
If we don't try, a generation of Republicans could be shut out of governing.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I'll bet POTUS Trump can light a fire under the GOP's congressional leadership.
At least make the effort, and even if we fail, the hypocritical howling from the Trump-hating Democrats can be used against them when they inevitably begin do the same thing they so recently decried.
What say you?
No.
There is no legal or procedural barrier preventing Republicans from expanding the Supreme Court (commonly called "court packing") once the ongoing government shutdown ends.
The number of Supreme Court justices is not fixed by the Constitution; Article III, Section 1 vests judicial power in "one supreme Court" but leaves the details to Congress.
Congress has changed the Court's size seven times in history (from 6 to 7 in 1789, up to 10 in 1863, down to 7 in 1866, and up to 9 in 1869, where it has remained).
A simple statute passed by Congress and signed by the president (or overriding a veto) is all that's required. No constitutional amendment needed.
Right now, Republicans hold the presidency, a 53-47 Senate majority, and a narrow House majority (219-213).
After the Schumer shutdown ends, Republicans could pass a court-expansion bill on a party-line vote.
"I don't wanna", I hear you say.
I don't either.
But if we don't, all the things Republicans have accomplished will be undone.
if we don't, all the things Republicans want to accomplish in the foreseeable future won't happen.
"Well, maybe. But, wait", I hear you say.
"The Senate filibuster requires 60 votes"
"Ha", say I!
- The filibuster applies only to legislative matters; it was eliminated for Supreme Court nominations in 2017 via the "nuclear option" (a simple-majority rules change). Trump-hating Democrats had already done the same thing for lower federal court judges and executive branch nominees in 2013 under Majority Leader Dirty Harry Reid (D-NV). Republicans extended Reid’s precedent to the Supreme Court level.
Trump-hating Democrats don't have the votes to block it. It would mean that the GOP majority in the House would need to stick together, and in the Senate, at least 51 votes would be needed. The GOP has 53 in the Senate. Even if Rand Paul and a couple more sit this one out by voting "present", guess who can vote to break a tie in the Senate?
"But", I hear you wail, "If the GOP succeeds, couldn't Democrats do the same thing the next time they control Congress"?
"Of course", I say.
That's a given in any case. Haven't many Trump-hating Democrats already said they intend to pack the Court as soon as they get the chance?
Why, yes. Yes they have. I have the receipts.
We MUST strike first.
Why?
If the GOP packs the court now, while they can, they can quash a lot of the lawfare that's currently clogging the District Courts with obstructionism.
If the GOP hesitates, they may not get another chance for decades, because the Trump-hating Democrats will raise the bar to 13 or more Justices as soon as they can.
How do I know? Lots of 'em have said so, and on this question, I believe them.
If we don't try, a generation of Republicans could be shut out of governing.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I'll bet POTUS Trump can light a fire under the GOP's congressional leadership.
At least make the effort, and even if we fail, the hypocritical howling from the Trump-hating Democrats can be used against them when they inevitably begin do the same thing they so recently decried.
What say you?
