Supreme Court Showdown: Nine Forever Or Thirteen?

Front view of the Supreme Court building with large columns and steps under a blue sky — Photo: Joe Ravi / Shutterstock

House Republicans are pushing to lock the Supreme Court at nine justices forever, just as Democrats openly call for expanding it to 13.

Story Snapshot

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) reintroduced his “Keep the Nine” constitutional amendment to permanently cap the Supreme Court at nine justices.
A House committee report and a formal House Joint Resolution both lock in the nine-justice language, and a GOP-led panel advanced the measure in June.
Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) publicly said Congress should expand the Court to 13 justices, calling it “a pretty good number.”
Democrats already tried this in 2021 with a bill to add four seats, but it never got a floor vote under Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Supreme Court has sat at nine justices since 1869, and any amendment would need two-thirds of Congress plus 38 states to ratify it.

Republicans Move to Cement the Court at Nine

Rep. Dusty Johnson reintroduced his “Keep the Nine” amendment, which reads plainly: “The Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine justices consisting of one chief justice and eight associate justices”. The language is not new rhetoric. It is the exact text sitting in House Joint Resolution 1 of the current Congress, filed the same week lawmakers were sworn in.

Committee Report Puts Muscle Behind the Amendment

A formal House committee report, numbered 119-732, moved the proposal forward with a title spelling out its purpose word for word: requiring the Supreme Court “be composed of nine justices”. In June, a Republican-led House panel advanced the amendment, with backers citing fear that Democrats could one day “pack the court” if given the chance. Senators Todd Young and Ted Cruz introduced a matching amendment on the Senate side.

This is not the first time Republicans have tried this move. Johnson filed nearly identical language back in the 117th Congress, in 2021, months after Democrats first floated expansion. House Democrats have already voted down one version of this GOP resolution, with 218 Democrats rejecting the cap while more moderate members split away.

Democrats Have Already Called for 13 Seats

The reason Republicans want this locked into the Constitution is not a mystery. Rep. James Clyburn told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Congress “ought to expand” the Court, adding, “Thirteen is a pretty good number. A baker’s dozen would be a good number to have on the court”. He said the goal was justices who “will follow the constitutional underpinnings of America,” a phrase Republicans read as code for justices who rule the way Democrats want.

Clyburn’s comments echo a real bill, not just talk. Back in 2021, congressional Democrats led by Senator Ed Markey and Representative Jerry Nadler introduced legislation to expand the Court from nine to 13 justices, joined by progressive activists pushing to reshape the bench. At the announcement, Democrats argued the Court’s standing was “sorely damaged” and that adding four seats would “restore balance”. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at the time she had no plans to bring it to the floor, but the idea never went away.

🚨 BREAKING: @SpeakerJohnson says the House will vote tomorrow on a proposed constitutional amendment that would permanently limit the Supreme Court to nine justices, making it harder for future administrations or Congresses to expand the bench.

The measure would need a… pic.twitter.com/sMR4RRPaVh

— Just the News (@JustTheNews) September 1, 2026

Commentator Paul Waldman argued Clyburn’s renewed push shows “Supreme Court Reform Is No Longer Optional for Democrats in 2028,” noting that while 18-year term limits remain the most common Democratic reform idea, expansion supporters have settled on 13 as their target number.

A Court Size Fight Rooted in History

Congress has changed the size of the Supreme Court seven times since the country’s founding, starting at six justices under the Judiciary Act of 1789. The number has held steady at nine since 1869, when the Judiciary Act sponsored by Senator Lyman Trumbull fixed it there for good. The last serious attempt to change that came in 1937, when President Franklin Roosevelt tried to add up to six justices after growing frustrated with rulings against his New Deal programs. Congress rejected that plan, and nine has held ever since.

What’s Next for the Amendment

Passing a constitutional amendment is no small task. It requires two-thirds support in both the House and Senate, then ratification by 38 states. Republicans currently control both chambers, but Democrats have blocked similar measures before, and any amendment would need broad, lasting support to survive the ratification process. For now, the fight is a clear split: Republicans want the number nine locked in stone, while Democrats openly discuss growing the bench to 13. Conservatives see this as a defense of the Court’s independence against a future Democratic majority that might otherwise stack the bench to get the rulings it wants.