Supreme Court Expansion Opinion and Commentary

Read opinion essays and commentary on Supreme Court expansion and its political and democratic implications.

Last updated: November 13, 2026

November 13, 2026 - “Maybe Conservative Justices Will Die or Retire” Is Not a Plan For Supreme Court Reform, by Jay Willis (Balls & Strikes)

November 11, 2026 - The One Issue to Rule Them All, by Elie Mystal (The Nation)

November 11, 2026 - Midterms: Will the Supreme Court Heed the Returns?, by James D. Zirin (Washington Monthly)

November 11, 2026 - The Democrats Need to Think Bigger on Supreme Court Reform, by David H. Gans and Elizabeth Wydra (Slate)

November 4, 2026 - Democrats Need to Talk About Supreme Court Expansion Now, by Jay Willis (Balls and Strikes)

October 24, 2026 - Hillary Clinton Thinks We Should Have 13 Supreme Court Justices. Here’s Why That Matters, by Paul Waldman (MS NOW)

October 15, 2026 - Bonus 257: Hard Questions About Court Expansion, by Steve Vladeck (One First)

October 13, 2026 - A Four-Step Plan to Rein In the Supreme Court, by Kate Shaw (The New York Times)

October 9, 2026 - This Supreme Court Keeps Making Supreme Court Expansion More Popular, by Jay Willis (Balls and Strikes)

September 29, 2026 - They've Seen Enough: Democratic Voters Are All In on SCOTUS Expansion, by Denny Carter (Bad Faith Times)

September 23, 2026 - How Congress Can Take Back Its Power Over the Courts, by Lisa Needham (Dame Magazine)

September 10, 2026 - "Is Court Packing Constitutional?" and Other Questions Easily Answered By Reading the Constitution, by Jay Willis (Balls and Strikes)

September 3, 2026 - GOP “Forces” Dems To Vote For SCOTUS Expansion, by Liz Dye (Law and Chaos)

September 3, 2026 - Democrats Who Are Still Afraid of Supreme Court Expansion Need to Grow Up, by Jay Willis (Balls and Strikes)

September 3, 2026 - Mike Johnson Just Made the Case for Expanding the Supreme Court, by Alexis Romero (Slate)

September 3, 2026 - A “Baker’s Dozen” Justices, by Jay Kuo (The Status Kuo)

September 3, 2026 - Clyburn Puts Supreme Court Expansion Front and Center, by Jennifer Rubin (The Contrarian)

September 3, 2026 - Republicans Court Debate on Expanding the Supreme Court, by Dan Merica (Washington Post)

September 2, 2026 - The Biggest Problem with the GOP’s Supreme Court Seat Amendment, by Hayes Brown (MS NOW)

September 1, 2026 - Thirteen Supreme Court Justices? Those Are Rookie Numbers, by Denny Carter (Bad Faith Times)

August 31, 2026 - Supreme Court Reform Is No Longer Optional for Democrats in 2028, by Paul Waldman (The Cross Section)

August 31, 2026 - Supreme Court “Reform” is a Misnomer (For Now), by Beau Baumann (Passing Political Time)

August 30, 2026 - Clyburn: Let’s Add Four, by Josh Marshall (Talking Points Memo)

August 23, 2026 - Institutional Reform That Can Be Done With a Simple Majority in Congress, by Nicholas Grossman (Liberal Currents)

August 21, 2026 - This Is How Democrats Talk Themselves Out Of Wielding Power, by Brian Beutler (Off Message)

August 11, 2026 - How Democrats Can Repair the Broken Supreme Court, by Adam Schiff (Los Angeles Times)

August 11, 2026 - Clausewitz and the Supreme Court, by Kiran Pfitzner (Liberal Currents)

July 21, 2026 - From 13 Justices to Term Limits: Six Reforms That Could Reshape the US Supreme Court, by Adam Schiff (APT News, YouTube)

July 19, 2026 - Tit for Tat Does Not Work If You Do Not Retaliate Against Defectors, by Adam Gurri (Liberal Currents)

July 9, 2026 - There Is No “Ending” Citizens United Without Supreme Court Expansion, by G.S. Hans (Balls and Strikes)

July 6, 2026 - What Would and Should Court Reform Look Like?, by Josh Marshall (Talking Points Memo)

July 6, 2026 - Reining in a Rogue Supreme Court, by Norman Ornstein (The Contrarian)

July 6, 2026 - Demand That Candidates Say “Expand the Court”, by Noah Berlatsky (Everything Is Horrible)

July 6, 2026 - Three Changes that Could Restore the Supreme Court’s Independence, by Svante Myrick (The Hill)

July 2, 2026 - Democrats Should Get on Board with Supreme Court Expansion – Fast, by Brian Tyler Cohen (Democracy Docket)

June 26, 2026 - Dems Must Talk Seriously About Supreme Court Expansion, by Michael Tomasky (The New Republic)

June 26, 2026 - The Unfortunate Necessity of Court Packing to Stop America’s Authoritarian Drift, by Andy Craig (The UnPopulist)

June 23, 2026 - Expanding the Supreme Court Isn’t Court-Packing, by Steven Lubet (The Hill)

June 18, 2026 - We’ve Never Had a Partisan Court Before. That’s the Case for Packing It, by Nathan Newman (Left Future)

June 18, 2026 - A Case for Court Reform, by Skye Perryman (Ms. Magazine)

June 17, 2026 - The Next Front in the Fight for Trans Rights Is the Courts, by Alejandra Caraballo (Dame Magazine)

June 4, 2026 - Supreme Court “Packing” Isn’t Radical. It Has Deep Roots in American Legal Tradition, by Rachel Shelden (Philadelphia Inquirer)

May 29, 2026 - It's Time to Restore Balance to the Supreme Court, by Zach VanHouten (People for the American Way)

May 22, 2026 - Filibuster Reform Is No Longer Enough, by Brian Beutler (Off Message)

May 22, 2026 - Congressman Raskin Proposes a 13 Seat Supreme Court, by Noodles (Daily Kos)

May 19, 2026 - Packing the Supreme Court is No Longer a Fringe Idea, by Ian Millhiser (Vox)

February 23, 2026 - The Long History of Supreme Court Reform, by Jesse Wegman (Brennan Center for Justice)

February 13, 2026 - Can We Expand the Supreme Court?, by Jake Orlowitz (Medium)

February 2, 2026 - Republicans Are Normalizing the One Reform They Should Fear Most, by Ian Millhiser (Vox)

December 19, 2025 - Why Democrats Need to Expand the Supreme Court, by Jamelle Bouie (YouTube)

December 5, 2025 - Democrats Need to Treat the Supreme Court Like the Villain It Is, by Paul Waldman (The Cross Section)

November 12, 2025 - How Congress Can Reclaim Democracy From a Supreme Court Dedicated to Undermining It, by Molly Coleman & Jenny Hunter (Balls and Strikes)

August 22, 2024 - Reform the Supreme Court or Bow to MAGA, by Wajahat Ali (The Progressive Magazine)

July 31, 2024 - Term Limits Aren’t Enough. The Supreme Court Needs More Justices, by Caroline Fredrickson (Bloomberg Law)

July 9, 2024 - The Case for Expanding the Supreme Court Has Never Been Stronger, by Holly Brewer (The New Republic)

February 13, 2024 - The Case For Expanding The Supreme Court, by Michelle H. Davis (Lone Star Left)

July 13, 2023 - It’s Time to Expand the Supreme Court, by Lily Bolourian (The Humanist.com)

June 23, 2023 - Expanding the Supreme Court Will Help Restore Reproductive Freedom, by Mini Timmaraju (Teen Vogue)

May 18, 2023 - Supreme Court Expansion Is the Supreme Court Fix That Actually Matters, by Michael Liroff (Balls and Strikes)

May 9, 2023 - Without Supreme Court Expansion, Liberals Might Not Control the Court Until 2065, by Yvette Borja (Balls and Strikes)

May 1, 2023 - It’s Time to Expand the Supreme Court, by Wajahat Ali (Medium)

January 17, 2023 - Runaway SCOTUS, by Julia Peter (Yes Magazine)

October 23, 2022 - Congress Needs to Modernize the Supreme Court and Bring it into the 21st Century, by Paul Bland (The Hill)

June 24, 2022 - Progressives Need to Expand the Court - Which Also Means Ending Most Judicial Review, by Nathan Newman (Left Future)

May 19, 2022 - We’ve Expanded the Supreme Court Before. It’s Time to Do So Again, by Anushka Sarkar (The Fulcrum)

December 15, 2021 - Expand the Supreme Court, by Elizabeth Warren (Boston Globe)

December 10, 2021 - I Spent 7 Months Studying Supreme Court Reform. We Need to Pack the Court Now, by Kermit Roosevelt III (Time)

December 9, 2021 - The Supreme Court Isn't Well. The Only Hope for a Cure Is More Justices, by Nancy Gertner & Laurence Tribe (Washington Post)

October 4, 2021 - Myth Busters: The Facts About Supreme Court Expansion, by Laura Williamson (Demos)

May 1, 2021 - Republicans Say Court Packing Is ‘Unconstitutional.’ They’re Wrong., by Steve Vladeck (MS NOW)

April 20, 2021 - Why the Supreme Court May Need Court-Packing to Keep its Integrity, by Chris Geidner (MS NOW)

March 12, 2021 - The Urgent Need for Court Expansion, by Aaron Belkin (SCOTUSblog)

October 27, 2020 - How to Fix the Supreme Court, by Various Legal Scholars (New York Times)

October 21, 2020 - Don’t Call it ‘Court Packing.’ Call it How We Save Democracy, by W. Kamau Bell (CNN)

October 14, 2020 - Republicans Oppose Court Packing (Except When They Support It), by Eric Levitz (New York Magazine)

September 25, 2020 - Expanding the Supreme Court Is Not ‘Radical’, by Jay Willis (The Appeal)

September 23, 2020 - There Is Only One Way Out of This Crisis: Expand the Court, by Elie Mystal (The Nation)

September 20, 2020 - The Supreme Court Struggle Is About Democracy, by E.J. Dionne Jr. (Washington Post)

September 18, 2020 - Abolish The Filibuster And Pack The Court, by Jay Willis (The Appeal)

September 17, 2019 - Mad About Kavanaugh and Gorsuch? The Best Way to Get Even Is to Pack the Court, by Jamelle Bouie (New York Times)

April 2, 2019 - In Defense of Court Expansion, by Aaron Belkin (American Constitution Society)

October 30, 2018 - How Democrats Can Reverse Years of Voter Suppression, by Richard L. Hasen (Slate)

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