Twenty Republican governors are urging President Biden to reject packing the Supreme Court.
In a letter to the president on Tuesday, the governors asked Mr. Biden to withdraw his consideration of adding justices to the high court, which is an issue his commission is currently exploring. The commission was empaneled via an executive order earlier this year.
The Republican governors, led by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, said the Supreme Court has operated with nine justices for 150 years and the court’s rulings impact the citizens of their states.
“Legal scholars from across the country and on both sides of the political aisle agree that court packing will breed perpetual court packing — it will never be enough. Each partisan shift will result in seats added to the Court until the Court has lost not only its independence but its authority,” the letter reads.
“The end result of court packing would lead to inconsistent rulings that undermine the legitimacy of the Court and fail to guide our nation and serve our states,” the governors added.
Mr. Biden issued an executive order in April creating the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.
It is composed of liberal and conservative members who are expected to issue a report in August about whether there should be new justices added to the high court and if justices should be subject to term limits.
Currently, federal judges are appointed for life.
The commission was created amid calls from progressives to pack the Supreme Court, stemming from anger that conservatives had a 6-3 majority on the bench after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.