U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is again championing court-packing after President Biden announced a new commission to study U.S. Supreme Court reforms, while other members of the Bay State delegation are keeping their cards closer to their chests.
Markey and fellow progressives such as U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-New York, say there’s no need to wait 180 days for the report from Biden’s newly formed commission to add seats to the nation’s top court.
“I welcome President Biden’s announcement, but after years of Republicans upending precedent, breaking their own rules, and stealing seats on the Supreme Court in order to use it as a political pawn, we need more than a commission to restore integrity to the court,” Markey said in a statement. “We need to abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.”
Jones tweeted, “My colleagues and I need not wait for the findings of a commission. We know the obvious: we must #ExpandTheCourt before it’s too late.”
Markey and Jones are slated to fire up liberal activists next weekend during a Demand Justice-led organizing call to push for four more seats on the court.
The number of justices on the bench has historically fluctuated, but has been set at nine since shortly after the Civil War. Changing that number would require congressional approval.
Biden said last fall he’s “not a fan” of court-packing. And some on his campaign were reportedly miffed with Markey’s and other liberals’ calls to add more justices to the court if the Senate approved then-President Trump’s swift pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shortly before the 2020 election, according to the Washington Post.
Other members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are keeping their powder dry as Biden’s commission sets out to study several potentially thorny Supreme Court reforms.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said Saturday that “everything should be considered at this point,” when asked by the Herald if she supports expanding the court.
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss said the freshman lawmaker looks forward to seeing the commission’s report.
Other delegation members declined comment or did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
Staff writer Marie Szaniszlo contributed to this report.
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April 11, 2021 at 05:23AM
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Markey calls to expand Supreme Court as other Massachusetts pols wait on Biden commission - Boston Herald
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