Overview
- The House voted down a Republican joint resolution on Sept. 2, 2026, that would have amended the Constitution to fix the Supreme Court at nine justices, failing 212–206 and missing the two-thirds threshold required under suspension of the rules.
- Speaker Mike Johnson and bill sponsor Rep. Andy Biggs framed the measure as a preemptive step to block Democratic proposals to add justices and used the vote as a messaging tool to put Democrats on the record.
- Democrats largely opposed the amendment, arguing it would strip Congress of a constitutional power to set the Court’s size and noting that some prominent Democrats have recently backed reforms such as expansion to 13 justices, 18-year staggered terms, and enforceable ethics rules.
- Changing the Court’s size does not require a constitutional amendment because the Constitution is silent on the number of justices, but an amendment would need two-thirds support in both chambers and ratification by 38 states, making a permanent fix politically and procedurally difficult.
- The episode is set to shape the midterm campaign narrative, deepen public debate over the Court’s legitimacy and could push reformers to use legislation, elections, and organizing rather than a near-impossible amendment to pursue expansion, term limits, or ethics reforms.