Ruth Bader Ginsburg Does Not Think Expanding the Supreme Court Is Necessary

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told reporters this week that she does not support the idea of expanding the number of justices in the court. This comes after some Democratic presidential candidates have stated they would like to expand the Supreme Court beyond its nine members in an effort to dilute the court’s current right leaning. 

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“It would be that — one side saying, ‘When we’re in power, we’re going to enlarge the number of judges, so we would have more people who would vote the way we want them to,’ ” she said. 

Ginsburg also noted that she was not concerned with proposals to end the life term of Supreme Court justices. She said it would be difficult to amend the Constitution referring to an attempt made in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add six new judges to the Supreme Court after the then conservative-leaning Court had blocked legislation relating to his New Deal. 

After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s refusal to hold hearings to confirm judge Merrick Garland, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, many 2020 candidates have shown interest in expanding the Supreme Court.

McConnell later confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee, judge Neil Gorsuch, and approved Brett Kavanaugh. In an effort to leave a lasting legacy for the Trump administration, McConnell has been known for his quick confirmation of conservative judges to the federal judiciary. 

While the current Supreme Court bench contains nine judges, there have been times when there were as few as five and, at one time, as many as 10 judges.