Ever since Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in February 2016, the Supreme Court has had just eight justices. While the number of justices has fluctuated over the years, there may soon be nine now that President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the court.
The original U.S. Constitution did not set the number of justices on the Supreme Court. Therefore, it was up to Congress to decide, and in 1801, it set the number at five. But things didn’t stay that way for long.
