Democrats Want to Pack the Supreme Court to Override Constitutional Rulings
Source: Hannah Bates. "Dems Want To Rig SCOTUS So They Can Ignore The Constitution." June 11, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Democrats want to add 4 more Supreme Court justices to get a liberal majority that will rule the way they want instead of following the Constitution. The evidence is that Democrats only push for this when they're out of power and have been trying to intimidate conservative justices.
Conclusion
Democrats want to expand the Supreme Court from 9 to 13 justices in order to create a liberal majority that will rule according to their political preferences rather than the Constitution
Premises
- Democrats have repeatedly proposed expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices through legislation like the Judiciary Act of 2021
- Democratic leaders like Hakeem Jeffries and Kamala Harris have openly supported court-packing when Democrats control Congress
- Democrats only call for adding justices when they don't control the presidency, revealing partisan motives
- The Supreme Court has functioned with 9 justices for over 150 years since 1869, showing the current system works
- Democrats' stated justification that 13 justices match 13 federal circuits is invalid since there were 10 circuits for nearly 100 years without calls for expansion
- Democrats have engaged in intimidation tactics against conservative justices, including threats and inflammatory rhetoric
- Democrats are upset because the current Court applies the Constitution as written rather than as they wish it was written
Assumptions
- The current 9-justice Supreme Court structure is optimal and should be preserved
- Constitutional interpretation should follow original text rather than evolving political preferences
- Democrats' motivations are primarily partisan rather than based on legitimate institutional concerns
- Historical precedent (150+ years of 9 justices) creates a strong presumption against change
- Court-packing would fundamentally undermine judicial independence and democratic norms