Published September 3, 2026. Based on the official U.S. House roll call and reporting from Reuters.
House Democrats just had a chance to permanently lock the Supreme Court at nine justices. Almost every one of them voted no.
H.J. Res. 1 would have amended the Constitution to require that the Supreme Court remain composed of nine justices. The proposal failed Wednesday by a vote of 212 to 206 because a constitutional amendment needs support from two-thirds of the House.
The party split was not subtle
According to the official House Clerk tally, 211 Republicans voted yes. Zero Republicans voted no. Among Democrats, only Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina voted yes, while 205 Democrats voted no. The chamber’s lone independent also voted no, and 15 members did not vote.
That does not prove every Democrat who voted no personally wants to expand the Court. Some opposed the amendment as a partisan messaging vote, and the Constitution currently allows Congress to determine the Court’s size. But it does mean they refused to permanently close the door on court expansion when the question was put directly in front of them.
Why Republicans forced the vote
Republicans brought the amendment to the floor ahead of the November midterm elections, making Democrats take a recorded position on one of Washington’s favorite escape hatches: changing the rules when the current rules stop producing the desired result.
The Supreme Court has held nine seats since 1869. Congress has changed its size at other points in American history, which is exactly why supporters argued a constitutional amendment was needed. A normal law could be changed by a future Congress. A constitutional cap would be much harder to undo.
To become part of the Constitution, the proposal would have needed approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate, followed by ratification from 38 states. With only 212 votes in the House, it never cleared the first hurdle.
The vote leaves voters with a simple question
If nine justices have been enough for more than 150 years, why refuse to guarantee that nine will remain enough?
Democratic critics said Republicans were trying to protect the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority. That response is revealing because the amendment would not have protected any particular justice or ideology. It would have applied no matter which party controlled the White House, Congress, or the Court.
The vote did not expand the Supreme Court. It did not change current law. What it did was create a clean public record: 205 House Democrats voted against permanently fixing the number of justices at nine.
Sources: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Roll Call 293; Reuters, September 2, 2026.
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