The Supreme Court is broken—but this bill could fix it
On Thursday, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon introduced a bill to overhaul the Supreme Court, including adding six justices to the court. It would do this over 12 years by having future presidents appoint one in their first and third years of their term until a total of 15 justices is reached.
The bill, titled the “Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act,’’ would also require a two-thirds supermajority—instead of a simple majority—to overturn laws passed by Congress. Additionally, it proposes a prevention measure to keep senators from blocking a president’s nominee by refusing to hold a vote. That happened in 2016, when then-President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the high court and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked it.
The bill also aims to build trust between the court and the American public by requiring justices to consider recusing themselves and make their written opinions public.
“I think we can all agree it's time to reform the Supreme Court. As of today, I have the bill to do it,” Wyden said on X.