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?

  • DetroitLolcat [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    3 years ago

    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.