Politics · United States · 7 hrs ago
Americans divided over proposals to expand the Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court has nine justices, and lawmakers are debating whether to change its size and rules.
People interviewed on Capitol Hill disagreed about expanding the court, with some favoring the current number and others supporting more justices.
A Republican-backed constitutional amendment to keep the court at nine members failed in the House in September because it did not get the required two-thirds majority.
Democratic proposals include expanding the court from nine to 13 justices, setting 18-year terms for newly appointed justices, and adding ethics requirements.
Some people interviewed said term limits could be a better way to change the court than adding seats.
Democrats have criticized some court decisions as political, while Republicans say the proposed changes reflect anger over rulings that Democrats oppose.
The proposals described in the story do not say what will happen next.
Americans interviewed by Fox News Digital expressed differing views on whether to expand the U.S. Supreme Court beyond nine justices.
Democratic lawmakers have proposed expanding the court and making other changes, including term limits and ethics requirements.
A Republican-backed constitutional amendment to permanently set the court at nine justices failed in the House in September.
Some interviewees supported keeping the court’s size unchanged, while others favored expansion or term limits.
- Who
- Americans interviewed by Fox News Digital, along with Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
- What
- The debate is over proposals to expand or otherwise reshape the U.S. Supreme Court, which has nine justices.
- When
- The article was published on October 12, 2026; the Republican-backed amendment failed in September.
- Where
- The interviews took place on Capitol Hill; the court is in the United States.
- Why
- Democratic proposals followed anger over court rulings, while Republicans argued the proposals were a reaction to rulings Democrats disliked.
Supporters of changing the court
Opponents of changing the court
Court size
Supporters of changing the court
Some support adding justices, with one interviewee saying more members could bring more differing opinions.
Opponents of changing the court
Some want the court to remain at nine justices, saying it is not broken.
Other reforms
Supporters of changing the court
One interviewee said term limits could be a more effective change than expanding the court.
Opponents of changing the court
Some Republicans oppose Democratic proposals and sought to permanently cap the court at nine justices.
A Republican-backed constitutional amendment to permanently set the Supreme Court at nine justices failed in the House.
Fox News published its report on Americans’ views of proposals to change the court.
- Current court size
- 9 justices
- Proposed court size
- 13 justices under legislation introduced by Rep. Al Green
- Proposed term limits
- 18 years of active service for newly appointed justices under a measure from Rep. Ro Khanna
- Amendment vote
- The Republican-backed amendment failed to win the two-thirds majority required for passage
- Interview location
- Capitol Hill
What people are saying
If it's not broken, don't fix it
If we're gonna change the size we need to do it now
One or two more doesn't seem like it's that much, but if they're like, ‘Double it.’ Well, starting to just kind of go overboard at that point.
I think that more substantial change would be putting in term limits
Sources
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