{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcsally.senate.gov/news/press-releases/mcsally-senators-introduce-constitutional-and-legislative-proposals-to-prevent-democrats-from-packing-the-supreme-court", "McSally, Senators Introduce Constitutional & Legislative Proposals to Prevent Democrats from Packing the Supreme Court", "2020-10-19", "2020", "2020-10", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Martha McSally", "M001197", "www.mcsally.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. SENATE \r\nAs Democrats plan to pack the Supreme Court with liberal judicial activists if\r\nthey win the election, U.S. Senators Martha McSally (R-AZ), Ted Cruz (R-TX),\r\nThom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and Cindy\r\nHyde-Smith (R- MS) today introduced two proposals to maintain the number of\r\njustices on the bench, preserve the integrity and independence of the Supreme\r\nCourt, and protect Americans' constitutional liberties. The first proposal would prevent the expansion or contraction of the\r\nSupreme Court by constitutional amendment, also known as the Keep Nine\r\namendment. The second proposal would stop Democrats from unilaterally passing\r\nany court-packing legislation in the United States Senate. Threats by\r\nDemocrats to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court and add liberal\r\nactivist judges is disturbing and dangerous, McSally said. On top of\r\nthat, some Democrats reluctance to even answer whether they would pack the\r\nCourt proves a far more frightening reality. The left will first deceive the\r\nAmerican people and then use any tool at their disposal to gain power and force\r\ntheir radical agenda on them. Our bills are critical to thwarting any efforts\r\nto fundamentally transform the Supreme Court, keeping the number of Justices at\r\nnine as it has been for over 150 years.  Make no\r\nmistake, if Democrats win the election, they will end the filibuster and pack\r\nthe Supreme Court, expanding the number of justices to advance their radical\r\npolitical agenda, entrenching their power for generations, and destroying the\r\nfoundations of our democratic system, Cruz said. We must take action\r\nbefore election day to safeguard the Supreme Court and the constitutional\r\nliberties that hang in the balance. That's why I'm proud to introduce these two\r\ncommonsense proposals, which will prevent either party from adding or\r\ncontracting the number of justices on the bench for political advantage.  After\r\nDemocrats last week during the confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett\r\naccused Senate Republicans of Court packing for simply\r\nfulfilling their constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on\r\njudicial nominees, Sen. Cruz added: Don't be\r\nfooled by Democrats' hyperbolic rhetoric. Packing the Court means one very\r\nspecific thing: expanding the number of justices to achieve a political\r\noutcome. It is wrong. It is an abuse of power. Democrats are endeavoring to\r\nredefine the language to set the stage for a partisan assault on the Court.\r\nWhen it comes to our fundamental liberties  our religious liberty, our freedom\r\nof speech, our Second Amendment rights  we are often one vote away from losing\r\nthem on the Supreme Court. For the sake of our liberties and the future of our\r\ncountry, we must preserve our independent judiciary. These proposals would do\r\njust that.  For the last\r\nfew years, Democrats have made no secret of their desire to see a radical,\r\nsocialist agenda imposed on the American people, Tillis said. Unable\r\nto implement their job-killing plans through the Democratic process, they've\r\ndecided they'll simply impose it on the American people through the Supreme\r\nCourt. Chuck Schumer and his allies are now saying they'll pack the Supreme\r\nCourt if Senate Republicans fulfill their constitutional duty to confirm Judge\r\nAmy Coney Barrett. Their proposals are dangerous and would give them free reign\r\nto appoint radical judges who would legislate from the bench, threatening the\r\nreligious liberty and Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians. We have had\r\nnine judges on the Supreme Court since 1869, and efforts to change that is not\r\nsupported by the majority of the American people. I am proud to co-introduce\r\nthese proposals to stop Chuck Schumer's radical liberal agenda and maintain the\r\nintegrity of the Supreme Court. Proposals to\r\npack' the Supreme Court and add seats to change its ideological balance should\r\nconcern every American, Wicker said. There have been nine seats on the\r\nSupreme Court for more than 150 years, providing stability and trust in the\r\nrule of law. These two proposals would protect the independence of our federal\r\njudiciary and ensure our nation's highest court is not subject to political\r\ngames. The shameful\r\nattacks on Judge Barrett are especially hypocritical given the Left's calls to\r\npack the Supreme Court and end the filibuster in a desperate attempt to impose\r\ntheir radical agenda on the American people, Loeffler said. These\r\nproposals will prevent Democrats from fundamentally altering the Court and\r\nadding new seats only to fill them with activist judges who will legislate from\r\nthe bench and threaten the right to life, the Second Amendment and all the\r\nindividual liberties that we as Americans hold dear. I am proud to stand with\r\nmy colleagues in preventing attempts to undermine the integrity of our\r\ndemocracy and Americans' freedoms. Having nine\r\njustices on the United States Supreme Court has worked for more than 150\r\nyears, Hyde-Smith said. Today, the long-standing checks and balances\r\nthat are the foundation of our democracy would be thrown into crisis if threats\r\nto pack the court are successful. Packing the court is all about politics and\r\npower, not principle. The legislation we introduce today would keep our\r\ndemocracy intact and isolate the judiciary from the political whims of our\r\ncolleagues across the aisle. BACKGROUND: Before\r\nPresident Trump had even nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Senate Democrats\r\nhad already pledged their opposition to her confirmation. Top Democrats,\r\nincluding Joe Biden, have falsely called Senate Republican's efforts to confirm\r\nJudge Barrett court packing because Republicans have been confirming\r\nprincipled constitutionalists to the federal bench.  It is\r\nabundantly clear that Democrats are desperately trying to redefine court\r\npacking in an attempt to hide their true objective: adding seats to the Supreme\r\nCourt in a radical and partisan attempt to drive the Court to the left. Joe Biden has\r\nfaced growing calls to expand the Court from the media and prominent Democratic politicians alike. Sen.\r\nEd Markey tweeted just hours after Ginsburg's passing, Mitch\r\nMcConnell set the precedent. No Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election\r\nyear. If he violates it, when Democrats control the Senate in the next\r\nCongress, we must abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court. Sen. Mazie\r\nHirono, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, also signaled\r\nsupport for packing the Supreme Court, calling Court packing long-overdue court reform. Earlier this\r\nyear, Sen. Kamala Harris voiced her openness to expanding the Supreme Court saying, We are on the verge of a crisis of confidence\r\nin the Supreme Court [] We have to take this challenge head on, and\r\neverything is on the table to do that. And Sen.\r\nElizabeth Warren voiced her support for expanding the Court while perfectly\r\nunderlining the need for Sen. McSally's legislation saying, I'm open. [] Actually, I mean, we could. []\r\nLook, there are a lot of different ways to do it. The number of people on\r\nthe Supreme Court is not constitutionally constricted. The text of\r\nthe Keep Nine Constitutional Amendment can be read here. The full text of the legislative proposal can be\r\nread here. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcsally.senate.gov/news/press-releases/mcsally-senators-introduce-constitutional-and-legislative-proposals-to-prevent-democrats-from-packing-the-supreme-court"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.97694993019104, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}