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Packing the Court Would Shred the Constitution
Calls to pack the Supreme Court are “idiotic and pernicious,” writes Jed Rubenfeld. (Illustration by The Free Press; photo via U.S. Supreme Court)
Kamala Harris is the latest Democrat to call for expanding the number of justices. That would erase the last check on majority rule.
By Jed Rubenfeld
05.19.26 — U.S. Politics
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The pack is back. Spurred by the Supreme Court’s recent racial redistricting decision, important Democrats are once again calling for court packing if their party can run the table in 2028.

Kamala Harris, the failed 2024 presidential nominee but an early front-runner in the next race according to several polls, flirted with the court-packing club on Friday. Talking election strategy last week with a left-wing nonprofit, she urged “Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court.”

James Carville, a longtime Democratic adviser and strategist, may be the most enthusiastic backer of the idea. “If the Democrats win the presidency and both houses of Congress,” he said on his podcast last month, “I think on day one, they should make Puerto Rico, D.C. a state, and they should expand the Supreme Court to 13. Fuck it, eat our dust.”

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Jed Rubenfeld
Jed Rubenfeld is a professor of constitutional law at Yale Law School, a free speech lawyer, and host of the Straight Down the Middle podcast. He is the author of five books, including the million-copy bestselling novel The Interpretation of Murder, and his work has been translated into over thirty languages. He lives with his wife, Amy Chua, in New York City, and is the proud father of two exceptional daughters, Sophia and Lulu.
Tags:
Congress
Supreme Court
Law
Kamala Harris
Democrats
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