From Associated Press - President Joe Biden addressed a long-avoided presidential campaign question today with his announcement of the creation of a bipartisan commission that will spend 180 days examining the possible addition of US Supreme Court justices and possible instituting of term limits for US Supreme Court justices.
The commission will be led by Bob Bauer, who served as White House counsel for former President Barack Obama, and Cristina Rodriguez, a Yale Law School professor who served in the Office of Legal Counsel of Obama.
The US Supreme Court has had nine members since shortly after the Civil War.
Biden made his announcement amid pressure from activists and Democrats who seek to realign the Supreme Court after it tilted to the right during former President Donald Trump's four-year term. Trump nominated three justices to the court, one of whom was confirmed just days before the 2020 US Presidential Election.
"With five justices appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, it's crucial that we consider every option for wrestling back political control of the Supreme Court," said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice.
Earlier this week, US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer warned that advocates of making big changes to the court should think long and hard about what they are proposing. He noted that politically driven change could diminish the trust Americans place in the court. Breyer is the oldest member of the US Supreme Court and the senior-most member of the court's three liberal-leaning justices.
Learn more about how and why the number of US Supreme Court justices has changed over the years and the effects the changes had on the country for years to follow.
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