• jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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    3 months ago

    Fun fact, Congress can change the size of the Supreme Court at will for any reason.

    They SHRUNK the court in 1866 from 9 to 7 because they just fucking hated Andrew Johnson THAT MUCH and they wanted to deny him a nomination.

    After Johnson was out, they raised it back up to 9 in 1869, Granting 2, and it stayed that way ever since.

    https://www.history.com/news/supreme-court-justices-number-constitution

    “The Supreme Court had just ruled that paper money was unconstitutional, which would have ‘wreaked havoc’ with the U.S. Treasury, says Marcus. But Grant and Congress quickly confirmed two new justices who reversed the Court’s decision in the earlier case, saving the Republicans from having to undo the nation’s entire system of legal tender.”

    • Hazzia@infosec.pub
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      3 months ago

      The Supreme Court had just ruled that paper money was unconstitutional

      Jesus and I thought our court was making the most dumbass decisions. Wierdly gives me hope that the Harris administration can fix a whole bumcha bullshit though.

      • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I misread Harris as Harrison and I thought that you were making a joke that it was the 1880s again…

      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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        3 months ago

        That was a little different, they didn’t actually change the size of the court, they just maintained the vacancy.

        In 1866 they actually went and said “Nah, 7 is good.” Which not only kept Johnson from filling a vacancy, it bounced someone else out.