Three Democrat White House hopefuls are saying they wouldn't rule out expanding the Supreme Court if elected, in hopes of curbing Republicans' growing influence.
"We are on the verge of a crisis of confidence in the Supreme Court," Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., told Politico. "We have to take this challenge head-on, and everything is on the table to do that."
Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, all said they would be open to expanding the court, joining prominent Senate Democrats to discussing changes that could include adding seats, imposing term limits on judges and taking other steps.
Gillibrand said that after President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, was blocked, Justice Neil Gorsuch is holding his Supreme Court seat illegitimately. She urged the Senate to move quickly to enforce new ethics rules on the court.
Warren also said that steps should be taken to depoliticizing the court, mentioning bringing in appellate judges on cases as an option.
The senators were commenting after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke also said they might consider expansion to the Supreme Court.
Other Democratic candidates said they are not yet ready to move toward expanding the high court.
“I’m open to these kinds of conversations, but I really caution people about doing things that become a tit for tat throughout history,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said. "When the Democrats expand it to 11, 12 judges, when Republicans have it, they expand it to 15 judges.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., another 2020 candidate, was also cautious, saying she thinks it's more "reasonable" to win elections and "stop the bad judges."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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