U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today became an original cosponsor of a constitutional amendment limiting the Supreme Court of the United States to nine justices.
The Supreme Court has had nine seats since 1869, and the amendment introduced Monday by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) would amend the U.S. Constitution to keep the current composition of the court. The amendment is a rebuttal to Democratic proposals by presidential candidates and others to expand the court to up to 15 justices.
“The latest scheme to pack the Supreme Court is part of a leftist ploy to radically remake our government. It’s an idea that seems to sprout during times of upheaval, lastly during the Great Depression. It was wisely stopped then, and it should be stopped now,” Hyde-Smith said. “This amendment, if passed by Congress and ratified by the states, would put the question to rest for good.”
Congress last rejected an effort to adjust the size of the Supreme Court by stopping President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 effort to expand the court to 15 justices.
In addition to Hyde-Smith, the Rubio legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
A copy of the amendment is available here.
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith Press Release
3/25/2019
Sarah Ulmer
