Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is not weighing in on the issue of increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, Congressional Democrats unveiled legislation that would increase the number of justices from nine to 13.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Schumer did not say whether he supports the legislation. Instead, he said, “Look, the bottom line is that I’m waiting to hear what President Biden’s commission says about the Supreme Court, and they’re going to look at many different aspects.”
Schumer’s comments refer to a new commission President Joe Biden established to study the “principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform.”
On April 15, Democrats unveiled their legislation aimed at countering the Supreme Court’s newly solidified conservative majority.
But for now, it appears that the legislation is not moving forward.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was asked if she would commit to holding a vote on the bill. She said, “No. I support the president’s commission to study such a proposal.”
“I don’t know that that’s a good idea or a bad idea. I think it’s an idea that should be considered, and I think the president’s taking the right approach to have a commission study such a thing. It’s a big step,” she added.
During the campaign, Biden said he is “not a fan” of expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court, but vowed to establish a commission to look at ways to reform it because it is “getting out of whack.”