Mitch McConnell blocked Merrick Garland, Donald Trump upset Hillary Clinton, and Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now there are more than 20 Democrats running for president and ideas for reforming the court—specifically by adding justices or reducing their tenure length—have emerged as an increasingly popular topics on the campaign trail.
This is the first time since President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 court-packing plan that we’re debating reform, right? Far from it. A closer look at our history shows that plans to modify the court have been a part of our public discourse for centuries.