John Nance Garner

Senate Defeats FDR Court-Packing Plan 70-22, Handing Roosevelt His Greatest Legislative Defeat

1937-07-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

On July 22, 1937, the U.S. Senate votes 70-22 to defeat President Franklin Roosevelt’s Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, rejecting his proposal to expand the Supreme Court by up to six additional justices and handing FDR his greatest legislative defeat. Three-quarters of senators voting to kill …

U.S. Senate Franklin D. Roosevelt Senate Judiciary Committee Joseph Robinson John Nance Garner +1 more judicial-independence new-deal supreme-court separation-of-powers congressional-opposition +1 more

FDR Announces Judicial Reorganization Plan to Add Up to Six Supreme Court Justices, Triggering Court-Packing Crisis

1937-02-05 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

On February 5, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt announces the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, requesting congressional authority to appoint up to six additional Supreme Court justices—one for each sitting justice over age 70—potentially expanding the Court from nine to fifteen members. Roosevelt …

Franklin D. Roosevelt Supreme Court of the United States John Nance Garner Hatton Sumners Senate Judiciary Committee +1 more judicial-capture new-deal supreme-court separation-of-powers constitutional-crisis +1 more