In a New York Times interview, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) — who represents parts of Fairfax County — publicly supported a Democrat plan to lower Virginia’s judicial retirement age from 73 to 54, forcibly retire all seven sitting Virginia Supreme Court justices, replace them with Democrat appointees, and have the new packed court reverse the redistricting ruling.

Subramanyam was on a Saturday call with U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussing the plan. His quote: “Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now.”

After the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democrat redistricting referendum on May 8, top Virginia Democrats convened a private Saturday call with U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to discuss what to do next. Per New York Times reporting, the plan they discussed is the most radical attack on judicial independence in modern Virginia history. And one of the participants — Fairfax County’s own Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) — publicly endorsed it on the record.

Here is the plan, in plain English:

• Step 1: Lower the mandatory judicial retirement age from 73 to 54. Per the proposal first published in the progressive newsletter The Downballot, the General Assembly would “Make it 54 for Supreme Court justices—the age of the youngest justice, Stephen McCullough, who joined the majority opinion—and make it take effect immediately.” The-downballot
• Step 2: All seven sitting justices are forced into retirement. All seven today are older than 54. The court is wiped clean. The Black Chronicle
• Step 3: Democrats fill the vacancies. Per the New York Times reporting, “Virginia judges are appointed by the General Assembly, where Democrats hold majorities in both chambers and could then fill vacancies on the court with sympathetic Democratic lawyers.” Reason.com
• Step 4: The packed court invalidates the 2020 independent redistricting commission. Using a procedural argument about courthouse notice postings — an argument courts have already rejected — the new packed court would erase the redistricting commission Virginians approved in 2020.
• Step 5: The Democrat-controlled General Assembly redraws the maps directly. No referendum. No commission. No constitutional amendment. Just the same legislature that lost in court drawing whatever map they want.
• Step 6: Slip it into the budget. Yeargain suggests in his column that Virginia Democrats should slip the bill into the yearly budget, due on June 30. Pass it as an appropriations item. Avoid scrutiny. Move fast. Washington Examiner

Now read what Fairfax County’s congressman said about this plan on the record to the New York Times. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) — who represents the Fairfax-Loudoun congressional district and is up for reelection in November 2026 — endorsed it:

“Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid. We have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts all together. We know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.” Reason.com

Read that quote slowly. A sitting member of Congress, representing Fairfax County voters, is publicly arguing that Virginia Democrats should fire the entire state Supreme Court — including the first female Black chief justice, Cleo Powell, who dissented from the redistricting ruling — because the court interpreted the Virginia Constitution. His justification: Republicans might do bad things somewhere else. LifeNews

Some Democrats stepped back from the plan once the press caught wind:

• Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34, Fairfax) called the idea “too extreme” and cited election-timeline problems. TownHall
• Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) said she did not support removing the justices — but only after her spokeswoman initially declined to comment. Reason.com

Subramanyam did not retreat. He has not retracted the quote. He has not apologized. He is on the record.

There is one more name worth noting. Justice D. Arthur Kelsey wrote the 4-3 majority opinion striking down the redistricting referendum. Justice Kelsey is up for reappointment by the same Democrat-controlled General Assembly in January. He could have voted with Democrats and saved his job. He didn’t. He chose the Virginia Constitution over his own career. That is the man Subramanyam wants to fire.

The numbers behind the failed referendum are also worth remembering. Per campaign filings, Virginians for Fair Elections, the leading Democrat-aligned group backing the gerrymandered map, raised more than $64 million between January and April 2026. They lost in court anyway. Now they want to fire the court. Daily Wire

This is the Democrat playbook in one sentence: when the rules don’t deliver the result, change the rules. When the voters say no — pass a referendum anyway. When the courts say no — fire the courts. When the filing is wrong — file it again to the wrong court. When the prosecutor is corrupt — go silent. When the senator is raided by the FBI — go silent.

Subramanyam is up for reelection on November 3, 2026. The filing deadline for challengers is May 26. Fairfax voters now have a documented record of where their congressman stands on judicial independence: he supports purging the bench when it rules against his party.

Two questions for VA-10 voters: Do you want a congressman who will fire a court because a court ruled against his political party? And if Suhas Subramanyam will fire a state Supreme Court for the sin of reading the Virginia Constitution, what will he support at the federal level?