The U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to limit the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. Often called the "Keep Nine" amendment, the measure would permanently cap the number of justices on the court at nine. According to Reuters, lawmakers said the move was necessary to block Democratic members from “packing” the court if they regain control of Congress. The committee voted 15-8 along party lines to move the measure forward. To take effect, the amendment would need a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate and 38 states would need to vote to ratify it.

According to a statement released on May 21, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has introduced six articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Local Memphis reports that Cohen claims Roberts has committed high crimes and misdemeanors by "violating the Constitution, disregarding his statutory obligations as Chief Justice, and breaching his oaths of office." Specifically, the articles assert that Roberts has allowed the court to become a partisan force and has "systematically preferred the powerful over the people" and delivered "arbitrary, unexplained, and inconsistent decisions that violate the Constitutional protection of the parties." No co-sponsors have come forward so far but Newsweek reports that the effort reflects widespread Democratic frustration with recent rulings. In previous remarks Roberts has pushed back against characterizations of the court as politically motivated.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen has asked President Donald Trump to commute the sentences of all federal inmates serving time for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses, according to a letter posted on social media and reported on by the Commercial Appeal. Cohen and eight other members of Congress wrote that approximately 3,000 people are federally incarcerated on nonviolent marijuana convictions and urged the administration to provide reentry services for those granted commutations. Cohen, a Democrat who has represented Memphis in the U.S. House of Representatives for 19 years, announced in May that he will not seek reelection. During his time in Congress, Cohen has co-sponsored multiple bills aimed at legalizing marijuana.

Former Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers recently appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing to serve on the Cincinnati-based U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Nominated by President Donald Trump in April, Flowers faced scrutiny regarding past legal advocacy and questions about the 2020 election, according to Cleveland.com. Flowers is an attorney at Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers in Cincinnati. He previously worked for Jones Day and Sidley Austin. If confirmed, he will fill the seat currently held by Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who plans to take senior status on Oct. 1.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will return Rep. Andy Ogles', R-Tennessee, cellphone and destroy data obtained from it and his Google account, a move some say effectively closes its investigation into Ogles' campaign finances. The FBI had seized the phone in August 2024 over discrepancies in Ogles' campaign finance filings — specifically, a reported $320,000 loan to his campaign that was later amended to just $20,000 — but had agreed not to review its contents while Ogles challenged the seizure in court. The probe, which began under the Biden administration, had stalled awaiting a judge's ruling and never advanced to charges, according to the Associated Press. Ogles said in a statement that the DOJ "has effectively acknowledged I was right," He still faces a separate House Ethics Committee investigation.

U.S Rep. David Kustoff and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at supporting rural and low-income area hospitals by adjusting the Medicare Area Wage Index, which affects payments based on local and national labor market wages, the Commercial Appeal reports in a round-up of recent news. The bill, cosponsored in the House by Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama and in the Senate by Mark Warner of Virginia, seeks to address funding disparities that often leave rural hospitals competing for staff with higher-paying urban centers. “Access to health care should not depend on a person’s ZIP code,” Kustoff said, while Sewell noted the bill would help prevent hospital closures that force patients to travel farther for care, limit maternity services and reduce access to longtime doctors. The measure would allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to better account for challenges facing hospitals in underserved communities according to the sponsors. Read more in a release from Blackburn's office.

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office has released the full lists of candidates for 2026 federal and state elections following closure of the filing deadline. In the race to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee, 11 candidates (six in the Democratic primary and five in the Republican primary) filed to run. In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Bill Hagerty is running for reelection and faces no primary challenger. Five Democrats are running to earn the nomination to face him in the general election while eight Independents also filed for the seat. In the U.S. House, all nine Tennessee seats will be on the 2026 ballot. Six will see primary races. For state legislative races, all 99 seats in the House and 17 in the Senate will be up this year. Of note, Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, decided not to run in District 7, the Nashville Banner reports, and no candidate will appear on the District 93 primary ballot after incumbent Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, failed to obtain enough signatures. That will force candidates to mount a “write in” campaign, the Commercial Appeal reports. See all lists of candidates on the secretary of state’s website.

U.S. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn,  and state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, have released a letter on social media asking Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy for more information about a recent report from a local court-watch group. According to The Daily Memphian, Memphis Crime Beat alleged that three out of four felony cases prosecuted by the District Attorney General’s Office in December ended without prison time. The group analyzed 514 felony cases resolved in Shelby County Criminal Court that month, reporting that 144 were dismissed and 370 resulted in some type of sentence. In their letter, Blackburn and Taylor asked how many cases involved arrests by the Memphis Safe Task Force and why relatively few defendants received prison time. They asked Mulroy to respond by March 6. Mulroy said many of the cases involved nonviolent offenses or defendants without significant criminal histories and noted that some sentencing decisions were made by judges without his office’s agreement.

The federal judiciary is urging Congress to shift courthouse management away from the executive branch, citing mounting risks and longstanding neglect, according to Reuters. The judiciary argues urgent action is needed to address critical system failures, underfunded repairs, security concerns and worsening costs. Judicial leaders say courthouses are in “crisis,” pointing to an $8.3 billion repair backlog and decades of inadequate oversight by the General Services Administration (GSA). Lawmakers reportedly are working on legislation to gradually transfer control of courthouse facilities from the GSA to the judiciary, starting with up to 10 districts.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to request additional assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) specifically for Shelby County, the Commercial Appeal reports. Cohen said the funding is “essential” to help the county recover from a winter storm that swept through the region last month and caused “extensive damages.” In January, President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Tennessee and FEMA released $3.75 million to reimburse the state. Earlier this month, the president also approved an expedited major disaster declaration for 23 counties in the state. Cohen is seeking an additional request for public assistance funding for Shelby County, citing updated damage estimates of nearly $7 million.