They could've ballooned it up to 50 justices with all the new additions being Federalist Society ghouls. They could've made the number 9 irrelevant. Why didn't they jump at this easy opportunity to consolidate power?
They could've ballooned it up to 50 justices with all the new additions being Federalist Society ghouls. They could've made the number 9 irrelevant. Why didn't they jump at this easy opportunity to consolidate power?
Same reason Republicans don't eliminate the filibuster. They want to break democratic norms just a little, enough to consolidate power slowly without radicalizing the Democrats to do the same. Democrats won't, because they're liberals who truly believe the Supreme Court isn't political.
The GOP already had 5 seats out of 9 before 2016. They knew Kennedy would retire and move his seat further right, and then they gambled on an 84 year old with pancreatic cancer dying and it paid off.