2 hours ago
A Republican proposal to amend the Constitution to prevent expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court failed on the House floor.
Like all constitutional amendments, the measure needed a two-thirds majority of the House to pass, which it did not get: The vote was along party lines at 212-206. Democrats have never supported such an amendment, so it will be easy fodder for Republicans to accuse Democrats of looking to "pack the court" with favorable liberal justices.
Rep. Brad Knott (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he wasn't surprised the vote was along party lines, even though Democrats, in his view, knew there would be "political risk" to voting no.
"Democrats are very clear. They want to pack the court," Knott said. "We want to maintain the normalcy and stick with the process that we've done for a long time."
The Republican campaign arm wasted no time spinning the vote into midterm messaging. Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps support and elect Republican candidates, wrote in a statement released minutes after the vote that Democrats voted against the amendment "so they can follow through on a radical socialist agenda."
#republican #knott #committee #along
Like all constitutional amendments, the measure needed a two-thirds majority of the House to pass, which it did not get: The vote was along party lines at 212-206. Democrats have never supported such an amendment, so it will be easy fodder for Republicans to accuse Democrats of looking to "pack the court" with favorable liberal justices.
Rep. Brad Knott (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he wasn't surprised the vote was along party lines, even though Democrats, in his view, knew there would be "political risk" to voting no.
"Democrats are very clear. They want to pack the court," Knott said. "We want to maintain the normalcy and stick with the process that we've done for a long time."
The Republican campaign arm wasted no time spinning the vote into midterm messaging. Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps support and elect Republican candidates, wrote in a statement released minutes after the vote that Democrats voted against the amendment "so they can follow through on a radical socialist agenda."
#republican #knott #committee #along
