Pelosi says she won’t bring bill to expand Supreme Court to the floor

© Greg Nash Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) addresses reporters during her weekly on-camera press conference

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday she has “no plans” to bring a Democratic-led bill to expand the Supreme Court to the House floor for a vote, while saying such an idea is “not out of the question.”

Pelosi was asked during a press briefing if she supported a bill brought forward by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to expand the Supreme Court by four seats and if she would bring it to the House floor.

“No. I support the president’s commission to study such a proposal, but frankly I’m not – right now, we’re back, our members, our committees are working. We’re putting together the infrastructure bill and the rest,” Pelosi said.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea or a bad idea. I think it’s an idea that should be considered and I think the president’s taking the right approach to have a commission to study such a thing. It’s a big step,” she continued.

Pelosi added of expanding the court: “It’s not out of the question. It has been done before in the history of our country a long time ago. And the growth of our country, the size of our country, the growth of our challenges in terms of the economy, etc., might necessitate such a thing.”

Several House Democrats are expected to introduce a bill on Thursday that would expand the size of the Supreme Court from nine seats to 13 if passed.

The move comes about a week after President Biden signed an executive order forming a commission to look into the possibility of adding more seats to the Supreme Court.

“The Commission’s purpose is to provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals,” the White House said in a release last week.

“The topics it will examine include the genesis of the reform debate; the Court’s role in the Constitutional system; the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court; the membership and size of the Court; and the Court’s case selection, rules, and practices.”

Biden has so far not stated whether he would support expanding the Supreme Court. Debate over adding more seats has grown since the expedited nomination and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.