Republicans lock Supreme Court at nine justices, blocking future expansion
H.J.Res. 28 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that the Supreme Court of the United States be composed of nine justices. · Filed by Dusty Johnson (R-SD) · 108 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 22, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to lock the Supreme Court at nine justices, preventing Congress from changing that number. It would require ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures to take effect. The primary beneficiary is the Republican Party, which opposes court expansion; the bill directly responds to Democratic proposals to add justices.
Why we flagged it
This is a straightforward constitutional amendment proposal with no hidden mechanism. It does exactly what it says: propose to amend the Constitution to fix the Supreme Court at nine justices. The bill is transparent about its purpose and mechanism.
What the text implies
- Entrenches the current 6-3 conservative majority by removing Congress's ability to rebalance the Court through expansion, effectively locking in judicial ideology for decades.
- Removes a historical precedent: Congress has changed the Court's size seven times (1789–1869), making this amendment a break from constitutional flexibility on institutional design.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Citizens have a genuine interest in stable judicial institutions, but this amendment removes a democratic lever—the ability of future Congresses to adjust the Court's size in response to changed circumstances. It entrenches the current 6-3 conservative majority and prevents the elected branches from rebalancing the Court, which some view as protecting judicial independence and others view as anti-democratic.