Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is calling for ‘radically’ altering the U.S. Supreme Court by increasing the number of justices on the bench, and more.
‘We need to radically reform the broken Supreme Court,’ the congresswoman declared in social media posts, calling for ‘expanding the number of Justices,’ ‘a binding, enforceable code of ethics,’ and ‘imposing term limits.’
‘SCOTUS reform is on the ballot in November,’ the lawmaker asserted.
While there are currently nine slots on the high court, some lawmakers advocate for increasing the number of seats, a proposal referred to by critics as court packing.
Omar, who took office in 2019 and is currently seeking re-election, has been an outspoken advocate of the policy.
‘Expand the court,’ she tweeted in 2020 after the Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court.
Omar and dozens of other Democrats have supported proposed legislation that would add four seats to the Supreme Court, expanding it from nine to 13, but the Judiciary Act of 2023 has not been brought up for a vote.
Three of the nine justices currently sitting on the Supreme Court were nominated by then-President Donald Trump during his White House tenure: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022 and confirmed by the Senate the same year, was the latest member seated on the Supreme Court.
Unlike presidents and members of Congress, Supreme Court justices do not face term limits. ‘Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,’ the Constitution states.