Schiff uses Roe v. Wade draft to call for court-packing: 'I don't care how the draft leaked'

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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., responded to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade if published by saying not only should Congress pass a law to legalize abortion nationwide, they should increase the size of the Supreme Court and add liberal justices.

Schiff proposed what is commonly known as court-packing in a Wednesday evening tweet in which he said he is not concerned with how Justice Samuel Alito's draft leaked to the press, as Republicans have expressed outrage over it.

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"I don’t care how the draft leaked. That’s a sideshow. What I care about is that a small number of conservative justices, who lied about their plans to the Senate, intend to deprive millions of women of reproductive care," Schiff said. "Codifying Roe isn't enough. We must expand the court."

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The Democrat, who has been rumored as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House if Democrats retain control of the House, did not say how many justices he would want on the court. Fox News reached out to his office asking for details regarding his suggestion to pack the court, but they did not immediately respond.

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Schiff's reference to lying justices appears to be a shot at Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh,, who during their confirmation processes discussed how Roe v. Wade is established precedent that warrants significant deference.

Both packing the Supreme Court and passing an abortion bill are items that have been suggested by a number of lawmakers on the left. However, doing either of these with the slim majority Democrats have in the House and Senate would require elimination of the filibuster, something Schiff has also supported.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks with reporters about the situation in Afghanistan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Aug. 23, 2021.  (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

"Congress must codify protections for abortion rights," Schiff tweeted Tuesday. "We must abolish the filibuster to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. Now."

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This too, would prove difficult, as every Democrat in the Senate would be needed to abolish the filibuster. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have both said in that they would not support this.