Democrats are counting on that, maintaining steady criticism of what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called a “MAGA Supreme Court.” From Schumer’s earlier threats against Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh—“You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price”—to President Joe Biden’s calling it “not a normal court” (after its popular ruling overturning racial preferences in college admission), the rhetorical onslaught has only intensified. At a Senate hearing last month, Judiciary Committee chairman Dick Durbin labeled the Court’s rather milquetoast ruling on presidential immunity a “game-changing act of judicial fiat” that puts presidents above the law. 

At a minimum, these attacks represent a transparent attempt to delegitimize the Court for the sake of a political narrative; perhaps more ambitiously, they could lay the groundwork for a court-packing attempt in the future. If the Left can convince the public that the Supreme Court has lost its independence and become a mere organ of conservatives and especially of former President Donald Trump, then there’s potential electoral benefit—as well as future capture of the institution—to be gained.