# Plain Language Summary: Supreme Court Size Amendment

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to lock the Supreme Court at nine justices. Right now, Congress has the power to change how many justices sit on the Court, but this amendment would make nine the permanent, unchangeable number. To become law, this amendment would need to pass both the House and Senate with two-thirds majorities, and then be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Why does this matter? The Supreme Court's size has changed several times throughout American history—it's been as small as six justices and as large as ten. In recent years, there's been debate about whether Congress should add more justices to the Court, particularly after some high-profile retirements and appointments. This amendment would prevent that from ever happening. If it passed, future Congresses couldn't expand the Court no matter what political circumstances arose, and they also couldn't shrink it below nine.

The practical effect is that this takes the Court's size completely out of the hands of elected officials and puts it in the Constitution itself. Supporters argue this protects the Court from political manipulation, while critics worry it removes flexibility that might be needed in the future. Either way, this is a significant move because changing the Constitution is intentionally very difficult—it requires overwhelming agreement across the country, not just a simple majority vote in Congress.

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.

Rep. Johnson, Dusty [R-SD-At Large]

 <p>This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the Supreme Court to consist of nine Justices. </p>