A Republican attempt to enshrine the current nine-justice structure of the Supreme Court in the Constitution collapsed on the House floor, falling well short of the two-thirds majority required for such measures. The final tally was 212-206, with every Democrat opposing the resolution and only a handful of Republicans defecting.
The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), was always a long shot given the supermajority requirement. But Republicans used the vote to sharpen their midterm attacks, accusing Democrats of harboring plans to expand the court if they regain power.
Rep. Brad Knott (R-N.C.), a Judiciary Committee member, said the party-line result was expected. “Democrats are very clear. They want to pack the court,” Knott said. “We want to maintain the normalcy and stick with the process that we’ve done for a long time.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee immediately pivoted to campaign mode. Spokesman Mike Marinella issued a statement minutes after the vote, claiming Democrats opposed the amendment “so they can follow through on a radical socialist agenda.” He added, “Give House Democrats an ounce of power, and they’ll use every bit of it to fundamentally transform America into an unrecognizable socialist hellscape.”
Court expansion is a perennial rallying cry for the GOP, dating back to Franklin Roosevelt’s failed 1937 plan. The issue has regained urgency as progressive lawmakers have floated adding seats in response to conservative rulings, particularly those that have sided with the Trump administration in recent cases.
But Democratic leaders dismissed the resolution as pure political theater. Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters that voters are not concerned about the court’s size. “This is such a fake issue that Republicans are putting on,” he said. “I understand why they’re putting it on, [but] the American public aren’t asking about this.”
Aguilar, who said he traveled extensively during the summer recess, noted that no constituent raised the matter. “Nowhere ever are people saying, ‘You know what we should do? We should cap the number of Supreme Court justices,’” he said.
The failed amendment comes as the Supreme Court’s emergency docket has grown, drawing scrutiny from both parties. Meanwhile, House Democrats are weighing procedural changes after two centrists sided with Republicans on a recent vote, a sign of the narrow margins in the chamber.
Republicans are betting that the court-packing threat will energize their base, even as Democrats argue that kitchen-table issues like inflation will dominate voter concerns. The GOP’s campaign arm has already signaled it will use the vote in ads targeting vulnerable Democrats.
For now, the constitutional amendment is dead, but the political battle over the judiciary is far from over. With the 2026 midterms approaching, both parties are likely to keep the court’s composition at the center of their messaging.
