Mayor Eric Adams, DSA agree: expand the court

It’s one thing New York City Mayor Eric Adams and democratic socialists in office agree on: the U.S. Supreme Court should be expanded to include more justices. Fifty one Democratic elected officials across the state signed on to a new effort organized by Demand Justice, a national nonprofit advocating for a less conservative court. The full list, shared exclusively with City & State, included state Sens. Michael Gianaris and Shelley Mayer, Assembly Members Kenny Burgos and Latrice Walker, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, City Council Member Gale Brewer and Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis. It also includes at least five DSA members, including state Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest. Adams didn’t sign the letter, but after the conservative-skewed court ruled to legalize abortion bans last summer, he called court expansion “crucial.”

Progressives have been pushing to add more justices under Democratic President Joe Biden, but he was never on board and momentum has stalled under a Republican House majority. A bill introduced in the previous Congress to add five seats to the nine-member court was cosponsored by nine New York Democrats, including Rep. Jerry Nadler, but it hasn’t been reintroduced.