In a preemptive strike against court packing, Senate Republicans are proposing a Constitutional amendment to set the maximum number of Supreme Court justices to nine members.
And, a secondary move, is proposed by Republicans to require a supermajority vote in the Senate before the size of the Supreme Court can be enacted.
"For the sake of our liberties and the future of our country, we must preserve our independent judiciary," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told The Washington Times. "These proposals would do just that."
Leading the moves, Cruz wants the Senate to take action before Election Day, because of the imminent threat to the "foundations of our democratic system," the Times reported.
The news comes as the Senate Judiciary waits to vote to move Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the full Senate vote, as soon as Monday, Oct. 26. Because President Donald Trump would have assigned three conservative justices to the SCOTUS, giving conservatives a potential 6-3 ideological edge, Democrats have talked about potentially increased the size of the court the next time they assume control of the Senate and the White House.
"Packing the court means one very specific thing: expanding the number of justices to achieve a political outcome," Cruz told the Times. "It is wrong. It is an abuse of power."
Cruz's constitutional amendment would take two-thirds vote in both the Democrat-led House and narrowly GOP-held Senate (53-47), in addition to ratification by 3/4s of the states. The last time an amendment was added to the Constitution was 1971.