Biden admin reportedly moving ahead with development of Supreme Court reform commission

The Biden administration is forging ahead in developing a bipartisan commission to study potential reforms to the nation's high court as well as the federal judiciary.

Biden campaign lawyer Bob Bauer and former deputy assistant attorney general within the Obama Justice Department Cristina Rodríguez will serve as co-chairs, according to Politico. The outlet said the commission's exact mandate is still being determined. Citing "those familiar with the discussions," the outlet reported that Caroline Fredrickson and Jack Goldsmith will also serve on the commission.

Politico pointed out that Fredrickson, who has previously served as American Constitution Society president, remarked during an interview in 2019 that, "I often point out to people who aren't lawyers that the Supreme Court is not defined as 'nine person body' in the Constitution, and it has changed size many times."

Goldsmith, who previously served as an assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush Justice Department, wrote a piece in 2018 in which he spoke highly of Brett Kavanaugh who had been nominated to serve on the nation's Supreme Court by President Trump: "He is a brilliant analyst with a deep scholarly and practical knowledge of the law. His legal opinions are unusually accessible. He is a magnanimous soul," Goldsmith wrote.

Politico reported that "recruitment of members is still ongoing, but a source familiar with the discussion expects between nine and 15 members total to be appointed to the commission." 

The outlet said that a White House official in a statement said, "The President remains committed to an expert study of the role and debate over reform of the court and will have more to say in the coming weeks."