Former Vice President Kamala Harris turned heads with a video earlier this month in which she argued Democrats need an “expanded playbook” to explore structural reforms to American government, including the Supreme Court.
Her comments reflected soaring Democratic frustration with the court after its recent ruling eviscerating the Voting Rights Act — and underscored the likelihood that Democratic presidential candidates will advance court reform.
“Any serious Democratic presidential candidate in 2028 will need a plan for how their domestic agenda will not die … at the Supreme Court,” says Josh Orton, president of Demand Justice, a liberal group that advocates for enlarging the court.
But reform advocates still face a Catch-22. The most legally defensible solution is expanding the court’s size. But it’s the most politically fraught. The most politically defensible solution is term limits on justices. But it’s the most legally fraught.
Harris called for Democrats to pursue a “no-bad-ideas brainstorm” and offered a succession of provocative possibilities, such as multi-member Congressional districts. Near the top of her list: expanding the Supreme Court.