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Ed Markey Wants 13 U.S. Supreme Court Justices

April 16, 2021

U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Malden) wants to expand the federal Supreme Court by adding four more people to it.

Markey is among a group of Democrats who introduced a bill (Judiciary Act of 2021) in Congress to try to expand the court from nine people to 13, as Fox News reports. Others who introduced the measure with Markey include U.S. representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), Mondaire Jones (D-New York), and Hank Johnson (D-Georgia).

“We’re here today because the United States Supreme Court is broken,” Markey said in a press conference on Thursday, April 15. “It is out of balance. It needs to be fixed.

“Expanding the Supreme Court rights the wrongs the Republicans have done to this great court,” Markey added. “Expanding the Supreme Court is equal justice and will ensure equal justice is dispensed to all Americans.”

The Supreme Court has a 6-3 majority in Republican appointees. Five are widely considered conservative, while Chief Justice John Roberts is sometimes a swing vote. Letting a Democratic president add four people to the Supreme Court would give the Democratic Party a 7-6 advantage. However, with a slim 50-50 majority in the U.S. Senate, the bill is unlikely to pass. All 50 Republicans oppose it, and so does at least one Democrat — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia).

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