Tipsheet

Exclusive: Rep. Jim Jordan Warns Left is After 'Pure Political Power' with Court Packing, Will Rig the System

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 15, 2021 9:36 PM

On Thursday night, in light of the Democratic scheme to pack the U.S. Supreme Court, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) spoke with Townhall about what he stressed is a "power grab from the Democrats" and "a terrible idea."

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Reps. Jerry Nadler and Mondaire Jones, both Democrats from New York, introduced legislation to expand the Court from nine justices to 13.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she will not bring the legislation to the floor for a vote in the House, but Rep. Jordan wasn't buying it. He offered that the commission President Biden recently announced as an executive order "is stacked in packing the Court, I believe, and then they do it," once the commission announces their findings. 

Now, when it comes to whether or not the legislation will pass, Rep. Jordan offered "it's all about the filibuster. If we can keep the filibuster, if Sen. [Kyrsten] Sinema and Sen. [Joe] Manchin keep their word, I think we're fine." 

As I've written extensively about, the two Democratic Senators have come out in strong support of keeping the filibuster, and may very well be what is holding it together. 

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The key word is "if," though. For "if we get rid of the filibuster," the congressman said, "we're potentially in trouble." 

When it comes to this "trouble," Rep. Jordan means Democrats having "complete control of the federal government," in addition to countless other institutions. The congressman also brought up similar remarks he made during last night's appearance on Fox News' "Hannity."

Rep. Jordan reminded that "the left," who he says "controls the [Democratic] party," is "totally focused on gaining power," and "the only thing they don't control is the federal court."  Again, this is why we need to keep the filibuster, because that is how Democrats will "get their leftist ideology through."

A major concern was how, with this Democratic power grab, elected members of Congress can't or refuse to understand how our Constitution works, about our three branches of government, that elections have consequences.

As we know, "the founders understood checks and balances are needed to protect liberty, to protect freedom," Rep. Jordan shared, going back to how many institutions the left controls. This includes the White House, the House, and the Senate. "That's not good enough for them," Rep. Jordan warned. "Now they want to control the Supreme Court, and they can't unless they rig it and change the rules." 

Reps. Jones and Jordan had a bit of a viral exchange earlier on Thursday when Rep. Jordan questioned if court packing counted as infrastructure. Rep. Jones mentioned it briefly, admitting he was half joking, but still sticking by his original argument, during the late morning press conference outside the Supreme Court, the very institution he and his colleagues seek to destroy in transforming it forever.


As expected, Republican unity in opposing legislation to pack the court will "be strong," according to Rep. Jordan, with the congressman emphasizing "we understand" what's at stake. 

One Republican response to legislation to pack the Court comes from Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has introduced an amendment, which Rep. Jordan told Townhall he was in favor of.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has also introduced an amendment, provided to Townhall by his office on Thursday night, which simply seeks to permanently keep nine justices on the Court. "The Supreme Court must faithfully interpret the Constitution. We cannot allow it to fall victim to partisan attempts to pack it with far-left radicals," Rep. Biggs said in a statement. "This desperate power-grab by Democrats will only further divide our Nation.  I will not stand for a ‘Supreme Coup’ of our highest court."

A Democratic talking point is that there is no requirement that the Court have nine justices. Professor Mike Rappaport of the University of San Diego argued in November, though, that the constitutionality may be questionable.  

Regardless, an amendment is thus a necessary move to shut down such an undemocratic move once and for all. 

Another talking point is that this is not unprecedented. However, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed his Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, it was "met [with] instant opposition" and, according to Barbara A. Perry, "Congress and the people viewed FDR’s ill-considered proposal as an undemocratic power grab." President Joe Biden, who, as a candidate and now as the sitting president refused to tell the American people what he truly thinks about court packing, famously called it "a bone headed idea" during a Senate Judiciary hearing in 1983.

Rep. Jordan wished to impart a more hopeful note though as well, emphasizing the power and importance of state governments, including in his state of Ohio, where the state legislature voted to limit the governor's powers. He also praised Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida. 

The congressman had been trending earlier on Thursday as well, for his viral exchange with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who had come before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.