Supporters of such a move argue additional justices appointed during a Joe Biden administration would offset the conservative majority, which they feel was unfairly established.
Democrats are furious over the push by President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans to move quickly on a Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They vowed to consider options for how they might respond if a confirmation vote is held before the presidential election Nov. 3.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who has advocated for expanding the court since Garland's blocked nomination,"If, in fact, they are successful in placing a justice on the court," Holder said,"we need to think about court reform. And at a minimum, as part of that reform package, I think additional justices need to be placed on the Supreme Court.
Tushnet said Congress expanded the court during the Civil War"to make sure that there'd be a Republican majority on the court. And then, when Andrew Johnson became president, they reduced the size of the court so that he wouldn't be able to appoint unsympathetic justices." "Had Roosevelt passed his judicial act, a key norm – that presidents should not undermine another coequal branch – would have been demolished," they wrote.
Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe told USA TODAY that if Democrats expand the court for political reasons, they risk"an unending escalation" in which each party changes the size of the court when it has the political power to do so.
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