“For over 150 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has been comprised of nine justices,” said DeWine. “Over the years, efforts to alter the composition of the court have always been met with skepticism by the American people of attempting to politicize the court. Keeping the number of justices at nine enshrined in the Constitution will prevent any political party from tampering with the court for political gain.”
The amendment was introduced by Reps Collin Peterson, D-MN, and Denver Riggleman, R-VA, on Sept. 24, according to https://keepnine.org/.
“To pack the Court is to politicize the Court with the consequence of further undermining trust in our institutions and hardening, rather than healing, our divisions,” said Husted. “I support efforts, including the Keep Nine amendment, that protect the Court from political overreach in order to preserve the independence and trust in America’s federal judicial system.”
Last week, a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation to add four seats to the court, the Associated Press reported. President Joe Biden also created a commission earlier this month that will spend six months studying Supreme Court issues such as expanding the number of justices and implementing term limits.
The commission includes 36 members and will have public meetings and file a report on its findings, according to AP.
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t been expanded since the late 1860s when it went from seven to nine justices.
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