Not so fast...

Americans are not necessarily on board with Democrats' plan to expand the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, according to an Ipsos poll for Reuters released yesterday. Only 38% of respondents support expanding the size of the court, while 42% oppose it, and a full 20% aren't sure. Some Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation last week to expand the high court, but party leadership, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been cool to the idea.

• — A majority of Americans agree on something. The poll shows that 63% of respondents want to end lifetime appointments for justices, by imposing term or age limits. Another 22% said they oppose any limits, and the rest did not express an opinion.
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• — No confidence? The poll also found that only 49% of Americans have a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of confidence in decisions made by Supreme Court justices. By comparison, 43% of respondents expressed a similar trust in the White House, and 32% said the same of Congress.
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• — Next steps. President Biden has formed a bipartisan committee to look at the merits of potential reforms to the court. While Congress has the power to change the number of justices who sit on the court, legal scholars believe it would likely require a constitutional amendment to end lifetime appointments. —Reuters

Bush: Immigration is our defining asset. It must be reformed

"We should never forget that the desire to live in the United States—a worldwide and as powerful an aspiration as ever—is an affirmation of our country and what we stand for. Over the years, our instincts have always tended toward fairness and generosity. The reward has been generations of grateful, hard-working, self-reliant, patriotic Americans who came here by choice. If we trust those instincts in the current debate, then bipartisan reform is possible. And we will again see immigration for what it is: not a problem and source of discord, but a great and defining asset of the United States." —George W. Bush in The Washington Post

George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States.

MORE: After outcry, White House says Biden will lift refugee cap in May —Associated Press

A Senate plan for student debt

As pressure mounts on the White House to take action on student debt, Sens. Mitt Romney and Kyrsten Sinema have introduced a bipartisan bill to help tackle the $1.7 trillion problem. The Earn to Learn Act would allow low-income students to pay for college-related expenses through an $8-to-$1 college-matched savings program. The bill is based on an Arizona program that has helped many students in the state graduate debt-free over the past decade. Meanwhile, with some Democrats pushing to eliminate all current student loan debt, President Biden is gathering information to determine if he can do so via executive order instead of going through Congress. —The Hill

MORE: Student loan debt forgiveness in 2021? Pressure grows for Biden to forgive debt —CNET

'His life hangs in the balance'

Supporters of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have called for mass demonstrations to demand his release amid fears about his deteriorating medical condition. Navalny has been on a hunger strike for almost three weeks and is in critical condition. The protests, called for April 21 across Russia, would fall on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly. "It's like an answer to Putin," says Andrei Kolesnikov, an expert on Russian domestic policy at the Carnegie Moscow Center. "You say something to the nation and then we also send a message to the nation as well." —The Wall Street Journal

MORE: National security adviser says White House is looking at options if Navalny dies in Russian custody —CNN

Kruse: America First has a dark history

"History isn't predictive, of course. But if the America First Caucus wants to argue what history has shown us, then let's not ignore what it has shown us about their own arguments. We need to remember the dangerous ends and drastic horrors such arguments led us to before and might well lead us to again." —Kevin Kruse on MSNBC

Kevin Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University. He is the author of "White Flight," "One Nation Under God," and "Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974."

MORE: Rep. Greene tries to distance herself from 'America First Caucus' document denounced as racist —The Washington Post

Focus on voting reform

In North Carolina, the state's most robust democracy reform bill in history is making its way through the legislature. The Fix Our Democracy Act aims to remove the influence of big-money donors from politics and protect voting access, allowing voters to hold elected officials accountable. The bill would also put redistricting power in the hands of a citizen commission staffed by regular North Carolinians. —The News & Observer

• — Michigan. Michigan Democrats have promised that any bills that attempt to place new restrictions on voting won't get past Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. But GOP lawmakers, who hold majorities in both chambers but not enough to override a veto, have a unique option that could allow them to enact sweeping changes to elections. A ballot initiative with signatures totaling at least 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial race can be passed with a veto-proof simple majority in each chamber. —NBC News
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• — Wisconsin. Disability rights advocates are worried that a series of bills proposed by Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature will increase the difficulty faced by the state’s disabled voters. One would require a photo ID for indefinitely confined voters and eliminate their ability to receive absentee ballots permanently. Another would require those under 65 to get a doctor to confirm their status. A third law requires administrators of care facilities to let residents’ families know when absentee voting is being conducted. —WUWM
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• — Multiple states. In Georgia, faith leaders are asking corporate executives to condemn laws restricting voting access or face a boycott. In Arizona and Texas, clergy have assembled outside the state capitols to decry what they view as voter-suppression measures targeting Black and Hispanic people. Similar initiatives have been undertaken in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and elsewhere as multifaith coalitions of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim groups perceive a threat to voting rights that warrants their intervention. —ABC News

Waldman: How far will the anti-democracy movement go?

"Everywhere you look, Republicans are defining democracy as a threat to be defeated. They're attempting not only to suppress Democratic votes but to seize control from local election officials who can't be relied on to favor the GOP. The most popular Fox News host tells viewers night after night that there's a nefarious plot afoot to 'replace' true (i.e., White) Americans with 'Third World' immigrants who after becoming citizens will prove their unworthiness by voting for Democrats." —Paul Waldman in The Washington Post

Paul Waldman is a political columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: One America News Network producer says 'majority' of employees didn't believe reports on voter fraud claims —Yahoo! News

I consider myself to be a left-leaning, middle-of-the-road person. I am registered as a Democrat, which I changed to because of my respect for Obama, but I do like reading The Topline for the views. I am SO worried about how the Trumplicans are taking over the GOP. It seems like the only Republicans I see on the news are the loudmouths who take the position of 'poor me, our liberties are being squashed,' etc. Where are the sane ones? Are there any besides Evan? These loudmouths are trying to destroy our democracy, and it is SO fragile. Please, can't sane people get louder? The country needs you. I am homebound due to multiple sclerosis, but people like me and many others need this platform to calmly get much louder. —Candy G., Colorado

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.