House rejects constitutional amendment to lock Supreme Court at nine justices, September 2, 2026

The House voted 212-206 on September 2, 2026 to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would permanently fix the Supreme Court at nine justices. The vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required to advance a constitutional amendment to the Senate and ratification process.

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona introduced the joint resolution, which would amend the Constitution to state: "The Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine justices consisting of one chief justice and eight associate justices." All but one Democrat voted against the amendment. Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina was the only Democrat to vote in support. Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent from California who caucuses with Republicans, voted against it.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 established six justices. The size changed a half-dozen times over the next century, both shrinking and expanding to a high of 10 seats, before it was set in 1869 at nine seats, where it has remained since.

The office of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., encouraged lawmakers to vote no. Clark's office stated: "This proposed constitutional amendment would permanently fix the number of Supreme Court justices at nine, stripping Congress of yet another constitutional authority that is meant to be controlled by the American people's representatives." The office also said the amendment would "do nothing to address the affordability crisis under President Donald Trump."

The amendment was part of a series of messaging votes House Republican leaders set up, along with a measure denouncing socialism, to make the case against Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. Mike Marinella, spokesman for the House Republicans' campaign arm, said: "Give House Democrats an ounce of power, and they'll use every bit of it to fundamentally transform America into an unrecognizable socialist hellscape."

The vote exposed Democratic openness to expanding the Supreme Court. Court expansion has shifted from a fringe idea to Democratic mainstream in recent years, fueled by Supreme Court decisions from the 6-3 conservative majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, weakened the Voting Rights Act, and granted Trump immunity for moves deemed official acts. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., a former House majority whip and influential figure inside the party, endorsed the idea of expanding the court to 13 seats on September 1, 2026 on NBC News' "Meet the Press." Clyburn said: "I think that we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress, and we ought to expand. Thirteen is a pretty good number. A baker's dozen would be a good number to have on the court. And I would hope we would get people on the court who will follow the constitutional underpinnings of this great nation of ours." Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, voiced some support for adding seats this summer, saying: "We need to revisit the point of expanding the court to 13 justices."

Josh Orton, president of Demand Justice, a progressive judicial group, stated: "What was once a fairly dramatic and fringe idea has now become mainstream because of how fed up the country has become with the Roberts majority." Orton added: "People understand this is now an emergency. They see the Roberts majority as more corrupt, more friendly to corporate power and to the Trump administration and more antidemocratic." Orton stated: "We intend to continue building the case for major Supreme Court reform through the 2028 election cycle." He also said: "This has to happen in the first two years of the next Democratic administration."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday: "Now you've heard the Democrat Socialists of America, the communist socialists and Democrat Party, who are taking the party over," referring to Democratic openness to court expansion. Johnson said Republicans will "keep nine seats on the court if they stay in charge."