The size and composition of the Supreme Court is not written in the Constitution. It has been held at 9 by custom for about 125 years or so. And while FDRs suggestion of "packing" the court with more judges so he could get the Old Guard conservatives overruled was met with outrage...
There's no actual law that says you have to appoint new justices. There'd be lots of blowback because it would be obvious obstruction, a new escalation, and breaking with longstanding precedent and comity of the Senate.
But the right wing has been pushing boundaries like this since the Gingrich Revolution. Considering all of the vacancies on lower levels of the bench, this is the next logical step.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2016-01-31 04:54 am (UTC)There's no actual law that says you have to appoint new justices. There'd be lots of blowback because it would be obvious obstruction, a new escalation, and breaking with longstanding precedent and comity of the Senate.
But the right wing has been pushing boundaries like this since the Gingrich Revolution. Considering all of the vacancies on lower levels of the bench, this is the next logical step.