This Fidelity Month, members of Congress are finding ways to stay faithful to our founding principles by upholding the integrity of our nation’s judicial institutions. The Supreme Court, in particular, has long been in the crosshairs of those who want to degrade our Constitutional values. Some Democrats have advocated expanding the Court in response to recent judicial outcomes they oppose. Yet, nine Justices have provided stability to the Court for over 150 years. Now, it is up to members of Congress to solidify that number to maintain the Supreme Court’s independence and promote public confidence in the judiciary.
Article III of the United States Constitution established the role of the Supreme Court; however, it does not explicitly set the number of Justices who can serve on the Court. In 1789, the Supreme Court was created with six Justices. That number changed throughout the years. The number even reached 10 Justices during the Civil War. Finally, in 1869, Ulysses S. Grant signed the Judiciary Act, setting the number of Justices at nine, which corresponded to the nine circuit courts at the time.
Several decades later, Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to wield ultimate control of the judiciary. Not only did he greatly expand the federal government’s reach into Americans’ lives, but he urged Congress to pass the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, which would add six more Justices to the Supreme Court. He wanted a hand-picked Court that would greenlight his New Deal reforms. The opposition to this attempt was great, even from his allies. The Senate Judiciary Committee framed the legislation as “needless, futile, and utterly dangerous.” The bill never moved forward.
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose views often dissented from our own, referenced FDR’s actions when forming her own opinion on the number of Justices who should serve in the Supreme Court. She stated:
I think that was a bad idea when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to pack the court.
If anything would make the court appear more partisan, it would be that. So, I am not at all in favor of that solution. Nine seems to be a good number. It’s been that way for a long time.
If only her greatest supporters agreed! Democrats cannot resist entertaining the idea of court packing after they have suffered from what they deem a “losing streak” (due to their own actions). During President Donald Trump’s first term, he was fortunate to be able to fill three Supreme Court vacancies with Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. By appointing Justices with a more originalist/textualist approach to the law, the Court was able to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This 6-3 decision gave the power of regulating abortion back to the American people via their elected representatives. The Dobbs case inflamed pro-abortion politicians and activists. Instead of blaming the flaws of Roe, which even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged, they turned their ire toward the six Justices. Their solution became harassing seated judges and backing a movement to pack the Supreme Court.
Democrat political strategist James Carville recently said the quiet part out loud. On a left-leaning podcast, he suggested packing the Court by saying:
If the Democrats win the presidency and both houses of Congress, I think on day one, they should make Puerto Rico [and] D.C. a state, and they should expand the Supreme Court to 13. [Expletive]. Eat our dust.
Carville then went on to urge Democrats to keep this plan under wraps by not talking about it in campaigns — just make it happen when they are in power again.
Eagle Forum knows all too well the implications of court packing. If Carville’s plan succeeds, the Equal Rights Amendment will be one of the first to be rolled out, creating a Constitutional right to abortion, transgender rights, sex-neutral spaces, the forced military drafting of women, and more. Parental rights could vanish, giving the bureaucracy more control over the education of children. We could even see personal property and gun rights vanish.
Kamala Harris played by Carville’s rules during her 2024 presidential campaign but couldn’t keep it in any longer after her loss. Last month, she suggested expanding the Court by “fighting fire with fire.” Pete Buttigieg was not so subtle during his 2020 campaign by touting his 15-member Supreme Court Justice plan. It seems as though presidential hopefuls cannot resist a court-packing scheme similar to Gollum’s obsession with the One Ring in The Hobbit.
With the fate of the Republican majorities looking unclear in the November elections, House and Senate Republicans are finally forwarding a constitutional amendment to protect the number of Justices. On May 21, 2026, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Court Packing: A Threat to the Supreme Court’s Legitimacy,” where Republicans laid out the dangers of weakening the Court’s role. Members highlighted previous opposition to court packing by Democratic allies such as Justice Steven Breyer and President Joe Biden.
Then, on Wednesday of this week, the House Judiciary Committee marked up Representative Andy Biggs’s H.J. Res. 1 (also known as the Keep 9 Amendment), which, if enacted, would set the number of Supreme Court Justices at nine. For this language to be placed into the Constitution, two-thirds of the House and Senate must agree, and three-fourths of state legislatures must ratify the amendment. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has introduced the companion bill in the Senate (S.J. Res. 16).
Eagle Forum joined the Keep Nine Coalition to add support to the legislation. Director of the coalition, Roman Buhler, told The Federalist:
We’ve survived for [nearly] 250 years with a court that has been able to say no to politicians when it really had to. Not every time, but enough of the time to make an important difference. We have three branches of government. If we lose that, [it will be like] trying to ride a tricycle with two wheels. It doesn’t work.
Eagle Forum continues to champion the Keep Nine Amendment by talking to members of both the House and the Senate. To learn more about efforts to stop court packing and the Keep Nine Amendment, visit the Keep Nine Coalition’s website here. Senator Mike Lee has also authored a book titled Saving Nine, which lays out the history, strategies of the Left, and how to save the Court’s integrity. We were thrilled to have Sen. Lee join us at Eagle Council 50. The video of his speech can be seen here. Make plans TODAY to join us in Nashville for Eagle Council 54, where you will once again be empowered and educated on the cutting-edge issues YOU need to know about. Registration is open: CLICK HERE!