Harris urges Democrats to expand Supreme Court and scrap Electoral College

Former Vice President Kamala Harris urged Democrats to consider expanding the Supreme Court and eliminating the Electoral College the next time they hold power.

“Let’s invite ideas, for example, that are about Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court,” Harris said on a call with the left-wing nonprofit Emerge. “Let’s invite a discussion about how do we push for statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C.; how are we thinking about the Electoral College.”

“We’ve got to neutralize this red state cheating,” she continued. “There’s a brutality at play on the other side, and a ruthlessness. And we need to play to win.”

Harris made the remarks after Democrats suffered two major setbacks in the redistricting process. In late April the Supreme Court limited the use of race in drawing electoral districts, effectively ending several Black-majority districts held by Democrats in the South. Earlier in May the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a Democratic-friendly map on procedural grounds.

“What they have done with this decision, by saying that the politics of redistricting is okay, is they are back-dooring racism through politics,” Harris said. “What they are doing is intentionally about trying to suppress the voice of the people.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the proposals “a dangerous thing, a dangerous gambit.”

“It’s a dangerous thing, a dangerous gambit,” Johnson said. “You don’t just blow up the system when you lose.”

“For the former vice president of the United States and a candidate for president to suggest that you should pack the Supreme Court or destroy these institutions because they lost is I just think outrageous,” he added.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., called the comments “totally insane” in an interview with Fox News.

“That’s why we can’t let her become president,” Norman said. “People … rejected her before; they’ll reject her again.”

Not all Democrats agreed. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News he is focused on lowering costs and health care rather than structural changes.

“I think that’s putting the cart before the horse,” Crow said. “Right now I’m focusing on lowering costs, health care, ending a runaway war that’s costing Americans tens of billions of dollars. Those are the things that my constituents are talking to me about.”

Republicans have gained the upper hand in the redistricting fight. The GOP could pick up more than a dozen House seats after drawing new maps in several states. Tennessee recently split its lone Black-majority district, and Louisiana and South Carolina are pursuing similar changes following the Supreme Court ruling.