US Congress rejects constitutional amendment to restrict Supreme Court size

A proposed amendment to the United States Constitution has fallen short, after Republicans attempted to cap the number of seats on the nation’s Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives failed to advance a joint resolution championed by Republicans that would have permanently limited the court to its current number of justices: nine. The amendment’s final vote, which was mostly along party lines, was 212 in favour and 206 opposed. A simple majority is needed to pass most legislation in the House, but constitutional amendments require two-thirds support. Representative Don Davis of North Carolina was the only Democrat to vote in support of the amendment, while independent Representative Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with Republicans, voted against it. US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday took to social media to chide Democrats who voted against the two bills. “For members of Congress who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, condemning socialism and defending the integrity of the Supreme Court shouldn’t be a controversial vote,” Johnson wrote on X. “Sadly, for today’s Democrats, they are.” Both efforts effectively amount to messaging exercises by Republicans, who are attempting to put their Democratic counterparts on the record as not denouncing socialism and any Supreme Court expansion. The manoeuvres come less than two months before November’s pivotal midterm elections, which will decide which party controls the chambers of Congress. In April 2021, four Democrats in the US Congress introduced a bill that would have created a Supreme Court with 13 justices. The US Constitution establishes the Supreme Court but does not limit – or specify – its size, leaving the matter entirely to the nation’s lawmakers. In an interview with NBC News last month, Democratic Senator Jim Clyburn of South Carolina embraced the idea. “I think that we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress, and we ought to expand,” Clyburn said. “Thirteen is a pretty good number.