Why it Matters

The House Judiciary Committee markup clashed over due process, executive power, and the legitimacy of the current Supreme Court on June 3 as they advanced six bills spanning immigration enforcement, Supreme Court structure, worker safety liability, and trade crimes. The Trump administration's positions aligned with nearly every Republican-backed bill on the docket, setting up a starkly partisan afternoon that ended with Democrats voting unanimously against a constitutional amendment to lock the Court at nine justices.

The Big Picture

The markup, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-4) with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8) as ranking member, covered bills that had been gaining traction for months. H.R. 175, the Deport Alien Gang Members Act, was introduced in January 2025 and reflects the Trump administration's signature immigration enforcement posture. H.J. Res. 1, the nine-justices constitutional amendment, came just two weeks after a May 21 subcommittee hearing explicitly framed as a precursor to the vote. H.R. 8481, Kayleigh's Law, was the rare exception as a bipartisan victim-protection bill that passed 23-0. H.R. 1869, the trade crimes bill, also drew cross-aisle support, with Democrat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi publicly celebrating its passage. H.R. 5437, the stone slab liability bill, advanced over fierce opposition from the AFL-CIO, the American Public Health Association, and physicians who testified that engineered stone workers are dying of silicosis.

What They're Saying

  • Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5), on Kayleigh's Law: "Victims deserve lasting protection, and offenders who have committed these heinous acts should not have the ability to reinsert themselves into the lives of those they have harmed."
  • Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA-5), on H.R. 175: "If a rattlesnake is curled up in your bedroom, would you wait to remove it until it strikes? Or would you get it out of your bedroom before it can harm you or your family?"
  • Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5), firing back: "Before you kill a rattlesnake before it strikes, maybe you should prove it's a rattlesnake instead of just a garter snake."

The sharpest exchanges came on H.R. 175. Raskin delivered a lengthy indictment of the bill's evidentiary standards, detailing cases of Venezuelan asylum seekers deported to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center prison based on misidentified tattoos. He described one man, a soccer coach, sent to a "torture prison" because his tattoo of a soccer ball topped with a crown was mistakenly associated with a gang, when it actually referenced the soccer club Real Madrid. He also described a U.S. citizen from Maryland held by ICE for 25 days despite presenting proof of citizenship.

Political Stakes

The 23-0 passage of Kayleigh's Law, named after Kayleigh Kozak who was abused by her soccer coach beginning at age 12, gave both parties a rare bipartisan win. Raskin praised it while using the moment to note that the administration had "eliminated hundreds of programs that Congress created and funded to address the needs of victims and survivors of some of the very crimes we're talking about here today."

H.J. Res. 1 is the most politically durable item from the session. A constitutional amendment fixing the Court at nine justices requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers and ratification by 38 states, making enactment effectively impossible in the near term. But the unanimous Democratic opposition, confirmed by Reuters on the day of the markup, gives Republicans a clean contrast heading into the 2026 midterms. The Federalist's headline captured the Republican framing: "Not a Single House Judiciary Dem Supports Amendment Keeping SCOTUS at 9 Justices."

H.R. 175 cleared the committee 15-8 on a party-line vote and is headed to the House floor. The American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted a formal statement the day before the markup warning the bill "would result in ICE targeting people with no gang ties who pose no threat to public safety." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted a letter opposing the bill alongside a coalition of faith-based organizations. None of that stopped its advancement.

On H.R. 5437, the stone slab liability bill, the opposition argument is the most concrete. Australia has banned engineered stone entirely due to silicosis risk. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the American Public Health Association, and the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics all submitted letters opposing the bill arguing it would shield mostly foreign manufacturers while California stonecutters die of a preventable disease. Supporters, including the American Tort Reform Association and the National Association of Home Builders, argued the bill brings the stone industry in line with existing Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protections and redirects worker remedies to workers' compensation systems. The bill passed the committee as amended.

On the Supreme Court amendment, Rep. Derek Schmidt (R-KS-2) offered the most substantive Republican defense, arguing the amendment simply asks the American people whether they want to take court expansion "off the playing field" as a partisan tool. He noted that in the current term, conservative justices were the discontented minority in six-to-three cases more often than liberal justices. Democrats, led by Raskin, countered that Congress has changed the Court's size seven times in American history and that surrendering that authority now, while the executive is expanding its power on multiple fronts, is constitutionally indefensible.

H.R. 175 is now headed to the House floor. H.J. Res. 1 must pass the full House by a two-thirds majority before moving to the Senate. H.R. 8481 is expected to move to the floor with bipartisan support. Members have two days to submit views on all bills that cleared committee.

The Bottom Line

The markup produced one genuine bipartisan achievement on victim protection, one politically potent but constitutionally improbable Supreme Court amendment, and a sharp partisan divide on immigration enforcement that will define campaign messaging for both parties heading into November.

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