Democrats unveiling plan to add 4 justices to Supreme Court
Congressional Democrats plan to unveil legislation expanding the size of the Supreme Court on Thursday, according to three congressional sources familiar with the closely held measure. My scoop on that is here and the full story is down below.
In the upcoming Ohio congressional special election to replace HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Nina Turner, former state Senator and longtime Bernie Sanders surrogate, is facing off against local party chair and county councilwoman Shontel Brown. We have a new piece up on the race looking at Brown’s time on the council. It’s worth reading just to see how well reporters Matthew Cunningham-Cook and Sam Allard wade through a thicket of conflicts to lay out a serious scandal.
Sharon Lerner has a new story on how the plastics industry is pumping so much poison into the world that it is now omnipresent in dust.
Indoor dust contains dangerous, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, according to a study published today in Environmental Health Perspectives. The study of 46 dust samples from 21 buildings at a U.S. university found that all 46 samples contained hormonally active compounds that have health effects, including infertility, diabetes, obesity, abnormal fetal growth, and cancers.
The study helps explain how industrial chemicals known as PFAS and flame retardants, which are found in the blood or urine of over 90 percent of Americans and are already known to cause widespread health and reproductive effects, enter the body. PFAS, which first came to light as ingredients in Teflon, are also used to coat carpets, furniture, and clothing. Despite a lack of evidence that they prevent fires, flame retardants are added to furniture, carpet, electronics, and building insulation. While we don’t eat these products, this study makes it clear that we breathe in tiny bits of them that have entered the air as dust.
HOUSE AND SENATE DEMOCRATS PLAN BILL TO ADD FOUR JUSTICES TO SUPREME COURT
Congressional Democrats plan to unveil legislation expanding the size of the Supreme Court on Thursday, according to three congressional sources familiar with the closely held measure.
The bill would add four seats to the high court, bringing the total to 13 from the current nine. The bill is led by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, Subcommittee chair Hank Johnson, and freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones. In the Senate, the bill is being championed by Ed Markey of Massachusetts.
The number of justices on the Court, which is set by Congress, has fluctuated throughout the course of the nation’s history, reaching as many as ten seats before settling on nine in 1869. In 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz suggested that, if Hillary Clinton were elected, the Republican Senate should keep Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat empty, effectively bringing the number of justices down to eight.
Republicans currently hold six seats, while Democrats hold just three. Republicans were able to solidify control of the Court under former President Donald Trump, after first refusing to advance Merrick Garland’s nomination under former President Barack Obama, and then confirming Justice Neil Gorsuch after Trump’s election. Then, after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died in September 2020, Republicans threw out the procedures they had previously embraced and confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a matter of weeks.
After Trump’s nomination of Coney Barrett, then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced pressure to stop her confirmation by any means necessary. When those myriad options fell short, and Coney Barrett was pushed through, the conversation turned to expanding the court.
“Not only do these extremist judges threaten more than a century of progressive achievements,” read a letter to Schumer by 20 New York elected officials, “they threaten to foreclose the possibility of any future progress under a Democratic administration.”
But, after Democrats lost races they hoped to win in Maine, North Carolina, and Iowa, some Democratic strategists argued that the talk of court packing and ending the filibuster had inspired more Republicans to vote, and discussion of the move was shelved.
In April, President Joe Biden created a commission to study possible reforms to the Court, including adding seats. In October of last year, Biden promised to create such a commission if elected, saying the judicial system was “getting out of whack,” but said “it’s not about court packing.”
"Everything we care about is at risk if we don’t get this bill passed to expand the Court — from the vital democracy protections in HR1 to progress on climate change, racial justice, reproductive freedom, and more,” said Aaron Belkin of Take Back the Court.