South Dakota U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) has re-introduced (Jan. 11, 2023) his Keep the Nine constitutional amendment (H.J.Res.8) to limit the number of Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court at nine.
“Recent years have brought more calls to pack the Court or expand the Court,” said Johnson. “This is a terrible idea. As defenders of the Constitution, the Supreme Court’s check on the Executive and Legislative branches is essential to keeping our government free and fair. Turning the Supreme Court into a political football will erode public trust in our institutions and nullify intentions set by our Founding Fathers. Capping the Supreme Court at nine Justices will protect the integrity of the Supreme Court.”
“I applaud Rep. Johnson’s leadership for the nonpartisan “Keep Nine” effort to permanently protect the independence of the Supreme Court from efforts to manipulate the number of Justices for political advantage. Rep. Johnson’s efforts in Congress are a key reason more than 1000 elected officials nationwide have endorsed the commonsense “Keep Nine” Amendment to preserve the current number of nine Justices. Polling shows that an overwhelming majority of voters would support this Amendment. Every elected official who says they oppose Court packing should support this measure to make sure it can never happen,” said Paul Summers and Stephen Rosenthal, Co-Chairs of Keep Nine Coalition, former Attorneys General of Tennessee, Virginia.
“The National Federation of Republican Women, representing 65,000 grass-roots women across the country, strongly supports the Keep Nine Amendment. No Party should be allowed to tip the balance of power to its advantage by increasing the size of the U.S. Supreme Court. Americans have long recognized court-packing as a dangerous manipulation that would undermine confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the Court and upset the essential checks and balances that protect our liberties,” said Eileen Sobjack, President, National Federation of Republican Women.
Johnson’s House Joint Resolution has more than 90 cosponsors and is supported by the Keep Nine Coalition, National Federation of Republican Women, and Association of Mature American Citizens.
Read full bill text for H.J.Res.8 here.
View Johnson’s press conference here.
Courtesy photo.
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