Sen. Collins Pushes Back as Justice Jackson Opens Door to Expansion

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) pushed back Thursday against calls to expand the Supreme Court, following Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson’s argument that the court “obviously is not working” and that adding justices should remain an option.

Jackson said he supports fixed terms for Supreme Court justices and tougher, enforceable ethics standards. He also criticized justices for accepting gifts and travel from individuals and organizations with matters that could come before the court:

Jackson said the lifetime appointment system may have made sense when it was created, but argued that the court’s current ethical controversies have gone far beyond what the nation’s founders envisioned. He called for meaningful ethics reform with clear accountability, as well as term limits for justices. Jackson added that he would not rule out expanding the court, saying its decisions increasingly serve former President Donald Trump and wealthy donors. He specifically pointed to financial support directed toward Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

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Collins argued that protecting the Supreme Court from political pressure must come first. She rejected increasing the number of justices as a legitimate way to alter the court’s ideological balance, saying:

Collins said the judicial branch was designed to operate independently from politics as part of the constitutional system of checks and balances. In her view, expanding the court for political purposes would conflict with the founders’ vision and risk turning the Supreme Court into an extension of Congress. She also noted that she is the only Republican senator to have voted for Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan, all liberal women nominated by Democratic presidents. Collins said those votes reflected her belief that the court should not function as a political body.

The Constitution does not specify how many justices must serve on the Supreme Court. Congress created a six-member court in 1789, changed its size multiple times over the following decades and ultimately established the current nine-member structure in 1869.