Kamala Harris and the Democrats will prepare the Supreme Court if they win

In 2016, countless conservatives skeptical of Donald Trump voted for him anyway because the future of the Supreme Court was on the ballot. Now this concern is even more pressing.

This election, more than Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat is at stake—the Supreme Court as we know it is at stake.

At her CNN town hall, Kamala Harris was asked if she supports adding more justices to the Supreme Court to change its ideological makeup. She refused to dismiss the idea. Instead, she said menacingly“I think there should be some kind of court reform and we can study what that actually looks like.” Her vague response is the constitutional equivalent of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) quip about ObamaCare that “(n) we have to pass the bill so we can find out what’s in it.“

When it comes to our Constitution, Americans deserve more than talking points. We can’t afford to wait and find out what Kamala Harris’ plan is for the Supreme Court. The only way to be sure the court will continue in its current form is to re-elect Trump and the Republican majority in the Senate.

For the past four years, Democrats have laid the groundwork to prepare the court. If they win the Senate, the House and the White House, they will. From infinity investigations into the friendships of Justice Clarence Thomas to partisan hyperventilation about the flag at Justice Samuel Alito’s homeDemocrats have undermined the court at every turn, and the attacks will only intensify with four more years of control.

The only obstacle preventing Democrats from packing the court is filibustering. But even that is at risk. Right now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) has 49 votes. The only senators who have aligned with Democrats and support the filibuster are independents Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both of whom are retiring. If Schumer takes a seat in this election, he will have the votes to end it. If the filibuster falls, the court is sure to follow, because Democrats would only need 50 votes and the vice president to unleash the court’s package on the American people.

Republicans need to win the Senate because the Supreme Court is up for a vote, and so are some of its staunchest defenders. In Texas, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is running for re-election against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred. Allred is running as a so-called moderate, yet he supports the abolition of the filibuster. It is telling that whenever he talks about obstruction, he does so in the context of attacking the Supreme Court for its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

It doesn’t take a lot of reading between the lines to realize that Allred’s primary reason for quashing the filibuster is to attack the court. Texas voters face a stark choice: support Cruz, a former Supreme Court clerk and attorney who reveres the institution and our rule of law, or support Allred and risk destroying the Supreme Court forever.

There was a time when Senate Democrats were less radical and more independent. In 1936, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected FDR’s attempt to pack the court, declaring that by doing so our government would be “one of people rather than one of law.” Unfortunately, times have changed, and this Democratic Senate majority lacks the foresight and foresight to stand up to Harris and her supposed “reform.” Fortunately, the future of the Supreme Court does not rest in her hands, but in those of the American people next Tuesday. Vote as if the future of the Supreme Court is on the ballot – because it is.

Robert Luther is Distinguished Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University. He served as Associate Counsel to the President of the United States under President Trump.

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