Rep. Johnson and House Republicans Propose Constitutional Amendment to Cap Supreme Court at Nine Justices
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and has been sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. It is not yet scheduled for a vote and is not moving forward at this time. There is no companion bill currently associated with this proposal.
Constitutional amendments are extremely rare because they require massive support from both parties and most states, which this proposal currently lacks.
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Senate Republicans introduced a constitutional amendment that would block lawmakers from adding more justices to the high court's bench. Titled the 'Keep Nine Amendment,' proponents say it is a check on efforts to 'pack' the bench with liberal-minded justices and ensures judicial independence.
While Republicans push for a 'Keep the Nine' amendment to prevent court-packing, Democrats have focused on a raft of legislation aimed at Supreme Court ethics reform and oversight, including bills that would establish stringent rules for justices to recuse themselves from certain cases.
Congressman Tom Barrett proposed a constitutional amendment to limit federal judges to 20-year terms. Barrett noted that this effort builds on his co-sponsorship of the 'Keep the Nine' Amendment, which seeks to permanently set the Supreme Court's membership at nine justices to preserve independence.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that the Supreme Court of the United States be composed of nine justices.
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