James Carville, one of the Democratic Party’s most recognizable strategists, is now reportedly advocating a sweeping and controversial overhaul of American institutions — all in the name of “saving democracy” from President Donald J. Trump.
On a recent episode of his Politics War Room podcast, co-hosted with journalist Al Hunt, Carville argued that the only way to safeguard the nation’s future is through a series of aggressive Democratic power plays, including expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, redrawing congressional districts under strict federal mandates, and unilaterally granting statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
“The truth of the matter is, people are right when they say this democracy is really imperfect,” Carville said, criticizing what he sees as structural flaws in the American system — but offering little acknowledgment of the Constitution’s built-in checks and balances.
A longtime Clinton confidant, Carville’s latest remarks signal an increasingly open embrace by elements of the Democratic establishment of tactics once considered extreme — tactics that would fundamentally alter the balance of power in Washington.
“If [Democrats] get control of everything — the presidency, the House, the Senate — they’re just going to have to unilaterally add Puerto Rico and District of Columbia [as] states,” Carville declared. “They’re just going to have to do it. And they may have to expand the [Supreme Court] to 13 members.”
The notion of court-packing — expanding the nation’s highest court for partisan gain — has long been derided by conservatives as a dangerous assault on judicial independence.
Yet Carville is now pushing it as a necessity to undo what he characterizes as damage inflicted by Trump’s presidency, a move that many believe would erode public trust in the judiciary.
Carville also took aim at Republican-led redistricting efforts in states like Texas, suggesting Democrats should impose federal restrictions on when and how district lines can be drawn — further centralizing power in Washington and limiting state autonomy.
Ironically, Carville admitted that many of the ideas he now supports were once seen as dangerous or excessive even by his own standards.
“Any of those things in isolation I would be skeptical about. I would be cautious about,” he said. “I would say, ‘Well, I don’t know if that’s the greatest idea in the world, you’re opening Pandora’s Box.’”
But that caution appears to be fading. “If you want to save democracy,” Carville argued, “you got to do all of those things because we just are moving further and further away from being anything close to democracy.”
Critics on the right are likely to view Carville’s comments as yet another sign that Democratic leaders are less interested in defending democracy than in entrenching their own power.
As President Trump continues to lead in the polls and push back against progressive overreach, Carville’s blueprint is a stark reminder of just how far Democrats may be willing to go in their effort to reshape the American system — permanently.
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