FACTS
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, the oldest serving justice at 82-years-old, expressed his opposition to “packing the court” – the action of adding more justices to the court – in a speech at Harvard Law School earlier this week. His opinion is contrary to what many progressives have been pushing for. Breyer, a liberal who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, stated that such a move would only politicize and further erode confidence in the court.
“If the public sees judges as politicians in robes, its confidence in the courts and in the rule of law can only diminish, diminishing the court’s power, including its power to act as a check on other branches.”
Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court Justice of the United States
Many on the Left have argued that conservatives have an unfair advantage after the appointment of three justices under President Donald Trump, which put them at a 6-3 majority.
RIGHT
The Right agrees with Breyer’s stance and opposes packing the court. Steve Guest, Special Advisor for Communications for Sen. Ted Cruz, noted that even former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a staunch liberal, disapproved of the notion of expanding the court. Mike Davis, head of nonprofit Article3Project (A3P) noted the same, tweeting, “2 of the last 4 Supreme Court justices appointed by Democrat presidents publicly denounced the Democrats’ radical court-packing scheme.”
“The left-wing dark money groups are clearly frustrated with Justice Breyer. They thought they paid for court-packing when they elected Joe Biden and the Senate Democrats, but Breyer is not helping them to get it done.”
Carrie Severino, President of Judicial Crisis Network
Joan Frawley Desmond, senior editor of the National Catholic Register, stated, “As the Biden administration weighs its next move, let us hope Breyer’s well-timed warning hits its mark.”
Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer Opposes Court Packing, and now the Democrat mob want him cancelled. The left wants him retired. https://t.co/I7EUbMwmTg
— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) April 9, 2021
LEFT
The Left is in favor of court packing and is calling for Breyer to retire in the wake of his opposition, thus allowing Biden to nominate another liberal justice. Progressive organization Demand Justice, whose website reads, “The Supreme Court has been captured by partisan, Republican interests,” tweeted the demand, “Expand the Supreme Court.” USA Today op-ed columnist Michael J. Stern wrote, “Hey Justice Breyer, know what caused a lack of trust in the Supreme Court? Refusing to give a hearing to Obama’s appointee a year before he left office and then ramming Amy Coney Barrett through a week before a presidential election. Kavanaugh too.” “Public trust in the Supreme Court has been eroding for years because of the Court’s repeated meddling in politics to help Republicans and big business,” argued Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ)
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