{"id":2613589,"date":"2026-06-12T12:56:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:56:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:56:02","slug":"pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/","title":{"rendered":"Buttigieg Backs Democrats&#8217; Extreme Court-Packing Gambit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2613589&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=806TEpAy1xE\">Pete Buttigieg\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/12\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Pete Buttigieg Throws Support Behind Democrats\u2019 Extreme Court-Packing Gambit&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/12\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Pete Buttigieg Throws Support Behind Democrats\u2019 Extreme Court-Packing Gambit&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/12\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/12\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Pete Buttigieg Throws Support Behind Democrats\u2019 Extreme Court-Packing Gambit&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/12\/pete-buttigieg-throws-support-behind-democrats-extreme-court-packing-gambit\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s a day that ends in \u201cy,\u201d which means yet another high-ranking Democrat is backing his party\u2019s extreme proposal to pack the Supreme Court with left-wing ideologues. <\/p>\n<p>Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg threw his support behind the radical power-grab while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/chicago\/news\/pete-buttigieg-hillary-clinton-rainbow-push-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">speaking<\/a> at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/national-rainbow-push-coalition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rainbow PUSH Coalition<\/a> event on Thursday. In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=806TEpAy1xE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remarks<\/a> to attendees, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/elections\/president\/2028\/national\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prospective<\/a> 2028 Democrat presidential contender accused SCOTUS of acting in a \u201crogue\u201d fashion and \u201ceviscerat[ing] the Voting Rights Act\u201d by upholding the Constitution.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2841925337\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The comments are seemingly in response to the high court\u2019s recent <em>Louisiana v. Callais<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/29\/supreme-court-smacks-down-rampant-race-based-gerrymandering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decision<\/a>, which deemed Louisiana\u2019s drawing of a second majority-black congressional district to be an \u201cunconstitutional racial gerrymander.\u201d The ruling more notably kneecapped states\u2019 ability to engage in race-based redistricting \u2014 a strategy favored by Democrats to draw districts in their party\u2019s favor. <\/p>\n<p>After his unhinged screed about <em>Callais<\/em>, Buttigieg was asked by the event moderator for his thoughts on \u201csome really progressive ideas\u201d about how to handle \u201cthat rogue Supreme Court.\u201d He more specifically pressed Buttigieg on the proposal to \u201cincreas[e] the number of justices\u201d as a way of getting rulings that Democrats favor.<\/p>\n<p>Without hesitation, the former Transportation secretary appeared to fully endorse the plan. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNowhere in the Constitution does it say that there have to be nine Supreme Court justices,\u201d Buttigieg said to applause from the audience. \u201cThat one doesn\u2019t even take a constitutional amendment. It just takes a readiness to set up a court that fits this country.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The potential 2028 contender went on to echo <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/21\/in-hearing-on-court-packings-partisan-perils-not-a-single-democrat-disavowed-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disingenuous arguments<\/a> by fellow Democrats that packing the court with four new justices would allow it to have one justice per federal circuit court, which the justices are tasked with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/about\/circuitAssignments.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overseeing<\/a>. He further argued that implementing such a plan would create a \u201cprocess that makes it less partisan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot have partisan warfare every time there\u2019s an opening on the court,\u201d Buttigieg said, while ignoring his party\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/05\/dems-shrug-at-platner-scandal-proves-kavanaugh-hearings-were-always-a-partisan-witch-hunt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reputation<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/16\/bombshell-audio-biden-privately-praised-clarence-thomas-character-while-claiming-to-believe-anita-hills-smears\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">engaging<\/a> in such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB124294934268945409\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">damaging antics<\/a>. \u201cSo, I think term limits would help, but I don\u2019t think they go far enough.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"aaNIRBwcvrQ0UzgLuVxWOMAfRoK2xk4v1jCy6lTbXyG5ceUDT8PjsV74J7wM3WEzqY3PK0l6dmGipNCk\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe could have 13 seats matching the district structure of the federal judiciary,\u201d says Buttigieg. And you can tell this is an urgent structural problem, because he wants to fix it only if and when the Democrats have a trifecta. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RMJ97lnMfX\">https:\/\/t.co\/RMJ97lnMfX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/charlescwcooke\/status\/2065433826705228244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The comments were hardly the first instance in which Buttigieg has espoused support for packing the court to achieve partisan ends. <\/p>\n<p>The Indiana native made court-packing a \u201ccentral\u201d component of his failed 2020 presidential campaign. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2020-election\/inside-pete-buttigieg-s-plan-overhaul-supreme-court-n1012491\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> by NBC News, Buttigieg\u2019s proposal sought to increase the number of justices to 15, \u201cwith five affiliated with Democrats, five affiliated with Republicans, and five apolitical justices chosen by the first 10.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buttigieg would later go on to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/466006-buttigieg-defends-court-packing-proposal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defend<\/a> his plan during a 2019 primary debate. The Hill noted how he was \u201cthe only\u00a0Democratic presidential candidate\u00a0on the debate stage \u2026 to explicitly endorse court packing as\u00a0way to prevent\u00a0<em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> from being overturned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Democrat calls to pack the Supreme Court went dormant upon President Trump\u2019s return to office, the party has turned to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/12\/any-vote-for-democrats-is-now-a-vote-for-their-plan-to-overthrow-scotus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">openly embracing<\/a> the radical scheme since <em>Callais<\/em>\u2018 release. In the past several weeks, figures from former Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/14\/dem-frontrunner-floats-packing-scotus-nuking-electoral-college-as-2028-platform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kamala Harris<\/a> to House Minority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/01\/dems-revive-court-packing-threats-after-being-told-they-cant-do-racist-gerrymandering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> have thrown their weight behind such efforts. <\/p>\n<p>In a bid to protect its integrity, the House Judiciary Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/03\/not-a-single-house-judiciary-dem-supports-amendment-keeping-scotus-at-9-justices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted<\/a> last week to pass a constitutional amendment proposal to keep the high court at nine justices. Every single Democrat in attendance voted against it. <\/p>\n<p>Constitutional amendments require passage by at least two-thirds of the House and Senate and three-fourths of states in order to be ratified. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-packing\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court packing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/louisiana-v-callais\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Louisiana v. Callais<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pack-the-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pack the court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pete-buttigieg\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pete Buttigieg<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/power\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">power<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/race-based-redistricting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">race-based redistricting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image Credit Pete Buttigieg\/YouTube Share Share Article on Facebook Share Article on Twitter Share Article on Truth Social Copy Article Link Share Article via Email It\u2019s a day that ends in \u201cy,\u201d which means yet another high-ranking Democrat is backing his party\u2019s extreme proposal to pack the Supreme Court with left-wing ideologues. Biden Transportation Secretary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2613590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Pete-Buttigieg.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2613589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Pete-Buttigieg.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}