# Plain Language Summary: Supreme Court Size Amendment

This proposed constitutional amendment would lock the Supreme Court at nine justices—the number it has had since 1869. Right now, Congress has the power to change how many justices serve on the Court, but this amendment would remove that ability by making nine the permanent, constitutionally required number.

The real-world impact of this is about preventing what's called "court packing." In recent years, there's been political tension over the Court's ideological balance. Some people have proposed adding more justices to shift the Court's direction, while others oppose this idea. This amendment would make it impossible to do that without going through the extremely difficult process of amending the Constitution again, which requires approval from two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of all state legislatures.

If this amendment passes, it would affect anyone who cares about the Supreme Court's composition and power. It would mean the Court's size stays fixed no matter what political party is in control of Congress. Supporters argue this protects the Court from becoming a political tool that changes size whenever one party wants to gain advantage. Critics counter that it removes flexibility from the system and locks in the current Court's makeup permanently. Either way, this is fundamentally about whether Congress should have the power to adjust the Court's size or whether that decision should be frozen into the Constitution itself.

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that the Supreme Court of the United States be composed of nine justices.

Johnson, Dusty

 <p>This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution to require that the Supreme Court consist of nine Justices.</p>