ATLANTA -- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) on Thursday signaled that Democrats would look to overhaul the Supreme Court if they regain power in Washington, nodding to his party's long-running frustration with the court's rightward turn.
In remarks at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Atlanta, Jeffries said he believes "dramatic Supreme Court reform is necessary" and described the conservative wing of the court as a "subsidiary" of President Trump's Make America Great Again movement. He said a "variety of different options that are on the table, and I think we can't foreclose on any single one of them."
More broadly, Jeffries described Democrats' message to American voters as "fighting for an affordable America," as his party seeks to flip the majority in the House, currently controlled by Republicans 219 to 212. He also said Democrats were "going to hold the crooks accountable," he said, alleging widespread corruption in the White House and Trump administration.
Democrats have been pulled in two different directions by voters this election cycle, thanks to an energetic push by candidates who identify as Democratic socialists and are seeking a major overhaul to the country's safety net and institutions, including the high court.
Asked if Democrats might blow it in November, Jeffries said, "Failure is not an option." He added, joking, "If the Knicks just won the championship...the Democratic comeback can take place."
The court has been a major source of anger for the left. It currently has a 6-3 conservative lean, and has issued rulings ending the right for women to get an abortion and voiding rules meant to protect the representation of Black voters in the South -- both of which enraged Democrats. But the court also has ruled against Trump in high-profile cases, blocking his tariffs and his effort to end birthright citizenship.
Some Democrats have talked about adding justices to the court to swing the ideology leftward or imposing a mandatory term length of 18 years, among other things. The size of the court isn't mandated under the Constitution. During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed expanding the court to as many as 15 justices, after several New Deal laws were blocked.
A May survey by Marquette Law School found the public was evenly divided on expanding the size of the court, with 50% in favor and 50% opposed. The court's approval rating stood at 46% in the poll.
Even if Democrats do win back control of the House and the Senate this fall, passing any court-related legislation in the 100-member Senate would require hitting a 60-vote threshold, unless Democrats end or change the filibuster rule. Also, Trump could veto any measure until his term ends in January 2029.
When the Democrats last had control of Congress and the White House, they unsuccessfully tried to change the filibuster rule to pass a voting-access bill. Jeffries referenced that fight in his comments Thursday, saying he supported major changes to Senate rules to make it easier for the majority to pass legislation.
Trump has warned that if Democrats regain power, they will eliminate the filibuster to reshape the court as a firmly left-wing institution, and he has urged Republicans to kill the rule now so that he can more easily pass his own priorities.
Democrats' "number one policy push is the complete and total OBLITERATION of our great United States Supreme Court," he said late last year.
Democratic congressional candidates on all sides of the party have criticized the court on the campaign trail, calling for term limits and an end to the 2010 Citizens United ruling that allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on elections.
"Expand the court. Institute 18-year term limits. Pass a binding judicial code of ethics," said Colin Allred, the Democratic nominee for a Texas House seat, in a Substack post. "This court has sacrificed its legitimacy. We must respond accordingly."
Abdul El-Sayed, the insurgent progressive candidate who recently clinched the Democratic nomination for Michigan's Senate race, supports ending lifetime appointments and regularizing the number of appointments across presidential terms.
"There's nothing in the constitution that says there have to be nine justices," he told voters last year.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has called for similar expansion. She said last month that the court should number 13 justices, instead of nine.
"I know this is going to be controversial coming from me in particular," she said, ticking off possible changes to the court and the Electoral College, as well as statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
A group of Senate Democrats reintroduced legislation in July that would establish 18-year term limits for justices and create regularized biennial appointments.
Democratic Socialists of America, the organization backing a slew of progressive candidates who won recent Democratic primaries in mostly deep blue seats, has advocated for replacing the Supreme Court entirely.