Rep. Jim Jordan said Friday he didn’t believe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she asserted this week that she has no plans to bring Democrats’ court-packing bill up for a vote.
Speaking to Fox News, Jordan (R-Ohio) made the remarks after being asked about the legislation, which Pelosi immediately sought to distance herself from after it was introduced Thursday.
“Everyone understands this is, this is as wrong as wrong can be, but I think they’re going to do it and I don’t put much stock in what the speaker of the House said yesterday when she said, oh she doesn’t plan to bring this bill on the floor,” the top-ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee told the network.
“I think this is all part of her game,” he continued. “I think she’s waiting for the commission that the president of the United States put in place, which I think is very biased to the left, and when that commission comes back and recommends they pack the court, then she’ll bring the bill to the floor.”
“Let’s hope the filibuster holds and we can keep, we can keep the court where it should be, where it’s always been,” he said, neglecting to note that the nation’s highest bench has previously numbered more than nine judges, though not since 1869.
A group of House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation Thursday to expand the Supreme Court to 13 justices from nine.
Pelosi immediately distanced herself from the proposal, offering a stark “No” after being asked if she backed the measure.
“I support the president’s commission to study a such a proposal,” she continued, going on to say that she and her members were focused on President Biden’s infrastructure package and not the federal judiciary.
As for whether she would eventually support adding to the court, Pelosi said the jury was still out on the matter.
“I don’t know that that’s a good idea or bad idea. I think it’s an idea that to be considered. And I think the president’s taking the right approach to, to have a commission to study such a thing,” the top-ranking House Democrat said, calling Biden’s move itself “a big step.”
“It’s not out of the question, it has been done before,” she went on to say, noting that “the history of our country a long time ago, and the growth of our country, the size of our country, the growth of our challenges in terms of the economy, etc. might necessitate such a thing.”
Jordan was also asked during his Friday Fox appearance about his heated debate with Dr. Anthony Fauci, when the nation’s top infectious diseases expert testified before a different House committee the Ohio lawmaker serves on.
The GOP congressman doubled down on his stance that stringent public health measures stood in the way of critical freedoms, saying, “I think there are millions and millions of Americans who understand that over the last year, every single right you enjoy under the First Amendment has been assaulted.”
“Your right to practice your faith has been assaulted, your right to assemble, we had curfews. In some places you weren’t allowed to have people into your own darn home,” he continued, going on to note that for those who spoke out against the “all-knowing people at the CDC and Dr. Fauci,” it would result in censorship.