Court Packing Opposition

FDR unveiled a plan that would dilute the power of the sitting Justices of the Supreme Court. He called for adding up to six new Justices to the nine-member Court.

Critics, recognizing that Roosevelt’s new appointees would most likely be New Deal supporters, called his plan court packing. They accused him of trying to increase presidential power and upsetting the delicate balance between the three branches of the federal government.