Mike Johnson lobs new threat at Dems minutes after shutdown vote: 'Keep the nine'

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced Tuesday that Republicans will bring a vote to the House floor aimed at permanently limiting the U.S. Supreme Court to nine justices.

“We will keep the nine,” Johnson told reporters just after the House cleared a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown.

He added that the proposal would prevent a future Congress from attempting to "pack" the court and insisted it was necessary while accusing Democrats and the party’s left wing of seeking to add more justices.

“We will have them put their money where their mouth is,” Johnson said Tuesday.

“We are going to bring a constitutional amendment. It is a bill to amend the U.S. Constitution to ensure that the U.S. Supreme Court remains composed of only nine justices,” the speaker said.

Johnson said Republicans will bring the measure to the floor under suspension of the rules, meaning it will need support from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress to pass. He accused the “communist socialists” within the Democratic Party of quietly plotting to reshape the court.

“One of their objectives, among all the crazy things, is they want to pack the U.S. Supreme Court,” Johnson said. “We’re going to make sure that doesn't happen.”

Johnson issued a final dare to congressional Democrats.

“There’s a couple of Democrats here in the House who have suggested that they’re not on board with the Democratic Socialists of America - just a few,” he added. “They’re going to get a chance to show us tomorrow. We’re going to see.”