Discussion · House of Representatives
Derek Schmidt Republican
“I want to amend the Constitution to keep the Supreme Court at nine justices. The Court does not just do whatever Donald Trump wants. It has ruled against him many times. Even former Democratic state attorneys general agree with this and support keeping nine justices. This used to be an issue both parties agreed on, and I want their letters added to the official record.”
“Mr. Speaker, you will hear from advocates of Court expansion that the Court is a mere rubber stamp for Trump. This is a Court that defied Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, to deport people without a hearing, to send troops to Chicago, to use emergency powers to impose tariffs, and to revoke birthright citizenship by executive order. Some of my colleagues on both sides may be surprised that I just uttered those words, but those are not my words. Those are the words of three of my former colleagues, three former State Democratic attorneys general, who strongly support the Keep Nine Amendment and disagree with my friends on the other side: Chris Gorman from Kentucky, Steve Rosenthal, and Tony Troy from Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is sad that until this Congress, this was a bipartisan issue. It wasn’t a Republican issue. It wasn’t a Democratic issue. Back when I served my State as attorney general in 2020, I wrote to the then-sponsors of this measure in this body and expressed my support for it, and it was a Republican from Virginia and a Democrat from Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I include both of these statements and letters in the Record at this point.”
Mr. Speaker, you will hear from advocates of Court expansion that the Court is a mere rubber stamp for Trump. This is a Court that defied Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, to deport people without a hearing, to send troops to Chicago, to use emergency powers to impose tariffs, and to revoke birthright citizenship by executive order. Some of my colleagues on both sides may be surprised that I just uttered those words, but those are not my words. Those are the words of three of my former colleagues, three former State Democratic attorneys general, who strongly support the Keep Nine Amendment and disagree with my friends on the other side: Chris Gorman from Kentucky, Steve Rosenthal, and Tony Troy from Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is sad that until this Congress, this was a bipartisan issue. It wasn’t a Republican issue. It wasn’t a Democratic issue. Back when I served my State as attorney general in 2020, I wrote to the then-sponsors of this measure in this body and expressed my support for it, and it was a Republican from Virginia and a Democrat from Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I include both of these statements and letters in the Record at this point.