(KERO) — Democratic leaders took the first steps toward expanding the Supreme Court Thursday.

They introduced legislation to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices.

The Supreme Court can only be expanded by an act of Congress, but any legislation is unlikely to pass right now due to very narrow majorities for Democrats.

The debate over the makeup of the Supreme Court dates back to the final year of the Obama presidency when Republicans refused to hold hearings for a Supreme Court pick after Antonin Scalia died.

Years later, the Republican majority approved former President Trump's SCOTUS pick just a week before the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, Congressman David Valadao issued a statement on the move.

He says "I am disappointed by the efforts of the majority to increase the number of Supreme Court justices. This sets a dangerous precedent for the courts to expand every time there is a new president, delegitimizing the Supreme Court and our Democratic process as a whole. This is why I co-sponsored legislation offering an amendment to the Constitution setting the number of justices firmly at nine. We must protect our highest courts from such partisanship and protect its tolerance for opposing viewpoints, regardless of the party in power."