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It’s been a progressive talking point for years, and now, it looks like it may become a reality. President Joe Biden has officially issued an executive order to form a commission to look into “reforming” the Supreme Court, a course of action that many think could lead to a court-packing frenzy. Democrats in DC are seething that the Supreme Court is currently stacked against them, with six out of the nine justices having been appointed by Republican presidents.
Truthfully, the current makeup of the Supreme Court is a bad break for Democrats. Savvy moves made by Mitch McConnell in 2015 allowed Republicans to finesse Neil Gorsuch into a seat. Then, the retirement of Anthony Kennedy in 2018 allowed then-President Trump another crack at the Supreme Court, nominating the highly controversial Bret Kavanaugh.
Finally, in 2020, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg solidified the Republican wing of the Supreme Court, with Trump nominating Amy Coney Barret, a legal scholar who is loathed by Democrats. These indignities haven’t been forgotten by Democrats, who are now grasping for any way to tip the balance back in their favor in the Supreme Court.
Biden’s executive order, signed on Friday, authorizes the creation of a committee to explore possible reforms to the Supreme Court. Though Biden has gone on record saying he doesn’t love the idea of court packing, he’s one of the few Democratic voices saying this. Many members of the left flank of the Democratic party have loudly called for court packing since the 2016 nomination of Neil Gorsuch.
In October, Biden told reporters “The last thing we need to do is turn the Supreme Court into just a political football, whoever has the most votes gets whatever they want. Presidents come and go. Supreme Court justices stay for generations.”
This is all taking place even as Stephen Breyer, the oldest member of the court, is seeing calls to retire now. Breyer, who was appointed by a Democrat, is facing pressure from liberals to step down so that Biden and the Democratically-controlled Congress can install a friendly replacement.
Breyer himself has stated that he staunchly opposes any measures to expand the court, saying it could undermine public trust in the institution. However, this hasn’t stopped conservatives from worrying about the possibility that Biden could be preparing to run roughshod over tradition and do whatever he wants while his party maintains control of Washington.
