House Democrats Block Consideration of Johnson’s “Keep the Nine” Constitutional Amendment
Washington, D.C. – Today, Republican House leadership brought to the floor U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson’s (R-S.D.) constitutional amendment to limit the size of the U.S. Supreme Court to nine Justices (H.J. Res. 11). Johnson introduced the “Keep the Nine” amendment as his first bill in the 117th Congress in 2021.
House Democrats blocked consideration of Johnson’s amendment on the floor today. Johnson urged House Democrat leadership to immediately consider his amendment to insulate the Supreme Court from political attacks. The legislation has 179 cosponsors.
“When Washington changes the rules only to acquire power or only to maintain power, it undermines public trust in the institutions that bind Americans together. We don’t need a further undermining of these institutions,” said Johnson. “Frankly, where does it end? Once this body establishes that the size of the Court can grow, only so we can secure the preferred judicial decisions of the House Majority, where does it end?
“My [Keep the Nine] resolution puts into the Constitution what has already been the case since 1869 – nine Justices on the Supreme Court. If we can just put into the Constitution to “Keep the Nine” we will be able to somewhat insulate the Court from the most corrosive political maneuvering that this body is capable of.”
Click here to watch the full speech.
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