Virginia Democrats are discussing a proposal to force state Supreme Court justices into early retirement by lowering the mandatory retirement age to 54—the exact age of the youngest justice who voted to strike down their redistricting map. The move comes after the state Supreme Court rejected a voter-approved redistricting amendment that would have flipped four House seats to Democrats. Democrats are also appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the retirement-age proposal represents the more aggressive option being debated. Republicans have criticized the idea as court-packing, while legal experts note that other states use similar mandatory retirement ages—the debate is whether applying such a rule retroactively to sitting justices crosses a constitutional line.