Staff Reports
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg stirred the pot again this week on Meet the Press. In a national TV interview he reaffirmed support for expanding the Supreme Court and called the Court “a nakedly partisan institution.” He did not give a new seat count, but his message was clear: change the Court’s makeup to change its rulings. That is the real story — not a lecture about “reform.”
What Buttigieg said on Meet the Press
On NBC’s Meet the Press, Mr. Buttigieg framed Supreme Court expansion as “reform” meant to make the Court less partisan. He was careful with words but blunt in intent. He said the Court has become partisan and suggested adding seats could fix that. He declined to give a firm number and left it to voters and other Democrats to debate how many new justices would solve the problem.
Why court-packing is a bad idea disguised as reform
Calling the Court “partisan” and then proposing to change its membership until you like the results is a recipe for a weaker, politicized judiciary. Judicial independence is supposed to protect rights regardless of which party holds power. If one party rewrites the rules every time it loses, the Court becomes just another branch of politics. That is not reform — it is raw power play wrapped in technocratic language.
Practical and political roadblocks
Congress would have to pass a law to change the number of justices, and Senate rules can stop that in its tracks. Even if Democrats control Congress someday, the idea of adding seats carries big electoral risk. Voters in swing districts do not like the idea of changing the rules to win. Republicans will make “court-packing” a clear, simple attack line — and they will win that argument in many places.
Bottom line: ask for specifics and expect fight
Mr. Buttigieg’s Meet the Press interview is less about fine-tuning judicial ethics and more about signaling to Democratic primary voters before 2028. If Democrats push this, Republicans should force a debate: say what you mean, name the number, and explain why you believe packing the Court won’t come back to haunt you. Voters deserve plain talk, not reform-speak. And if Mr. Buttigieg truly wants less partisanship, he can start by defending the rule of law instead of picking judges like they’re chess pieces.
