By Katelynn Richardson
Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden introduced a bill that would add six seats to the Supreme Court and radically transform the federal judiciary, his office announced Thursday.
Wyden’s Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act would expand the Supreme Court to 15 justices over 12 years. It would also increase the number of federal circuit courts to 15, adding more than 60 new circuit judges and 100 new district court judges.
“The Supreme Court is in crisis and bold solutions are necessary to restore the public trust,” Wyden said in a statement. “More transparency, more accountability and more checks on a power hungry Supreme Court are just what the American people are asking for.”
JCN President Carrie Severino wrote on X that the bill is “the worst attack on the Court since FDR.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposal to pack the court in 1937 failed after facing bipartisan opposition.
Currently, conservatives have a majority on the Supreme Court, with six of the nine justices appointed by Republican presidents.
Along with expanding the court, the bill would require the Supreme Court and circuit courts to establish a two-thirds majority to overturn laws passed by Congress on constitutional grounds. It also require the IRS to “initiate an audit of each justice’s income tax return” and release the returns within 60 days of filing. (RELATED: ‘Political Judiciary’: Kamala Harris’ Antics During Nomination Hearings Indicate ‘Radical’ Judges She Would Nominate)
Democrats have repeatedly attacked conservative justices over alleged ethics violations since ProPublica first reported last year on expense paid trips Justice Clarence Thomas took with his friend, the billionare real estate developer Harlan Crow. ProPublica is funded by many of the same groups that called on Thomas to resign or be investigated, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported last year.
Supreme Court nominations that are stalled over 180 days in committee would be automatically put on the Senate calendar for a vote, per the bill text.
🚨With 40 days until Election Day, Democrats just rolled out the most radical and dangerous legislation to date aimed at destroying the Supreme Court as we know it.
The new radical bill put forward by Senate Democrats is the worst attack on the Court since FDR. It will:
❌Pack… pic.twitter.com/8BeA5Td4Rn
— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) September 26, 2024
“This shows Democrats entire ethics smear campaign against Justices was pretext to pack [the] Court,” Schaerr Jaffe law firm partner and Senior Fellow at Center for Renewing America Mark Paoletta wrote on X. “Democrats don’t want an independent Supreme Court. Despite attacks on Justices, Court’s approval rating is much higher than the dismal 20% for Congress. Clean up your own house.”
In July, President Joe Biden proposed placing term limits on justices, creating a binding code of ethics and passing an amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Vice President Kamala Harris supported his proposals.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
