Josh Shapiro went on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” and said the Supreme Court needs “radical reform.” Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley, in an opinion column, read that as code for court packing and said it cost the Pennsylvania governor his standing as a Democrat who might have pushed back on his party.
Shapiro’s own words were these: “I think we need radical reform that’s actually going to ensure that the voices of the people are heard from, that the voices of the people are represented in the three branches of government. We don’t have that right now.”
Turley, who compares Shapiro to Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront” (“I coulda been a contender”), argues that the only radical change under serious discussion is adding justices to create an immediate liberal majority. He says Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg have already embraced the idea, and that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks of “radical” changes rather than naming court packing outright.
Turley’s case against the idea
The court, Turley writes, was never meant to be the “voice of the people.” He calls it a counter-majoritarian check, built to stand against popular impulse and protect minorities. He draws on his book “Rage and the Republic” and on Benjamin Rush’s warning about “mobocracy.”
He also cites other Democrats who have pushed the idea. Harvard professor Michael Klarman once sketched an agenda meant to guarantee Republicans “will never win another election,” while warning that the court could strike it down. Former Attorney General Eric Holder spoke of using power “if there is a Democratic trifecta in 2028.” James Carville said that if Democrats take the presidency and Congress, they should expand the court to 13 on day one.
Turley says Shapiro is making his case just as the court has ruled against the Trump administration, including on birthright citizenship and tariffs. Shapiro, as Turley quotes him, said that birthright case “should have taken a nanosecond to decide and it should have been 9-0.” Turley asks what that means: should the justices have skipped arguments? He also notes Shapiro’s remark that too much power sits with the executive branch.
Turley predicts that Shapiro will not be spared by the left. He points to socialists chanting “you’re next” when Jeffries’ image appeared on a screen at a New York victory party, and says Shapiro’s refusal to have his state take part in the 250th celebration on the Mall will not win them over.
The column says most voters still oppose court packing.
