You are right and I retract what I said to you and
@Poupou Escobar about this. The Judiciary Act of 1869 sets the current numbers.
I found this online as an explanation of the state of play.
The President the people elected gets to nominate. Barack Obama was elected twice, overwhelmingly. His second term was for 4 years, not 3-1/2. In March, 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill the seat vacated by the late Antonin Scalia. There were 8 months before the election, 10 months before the inauguration of the next President, plenty of time to conduct hearings.
Even before Obama’s announcement, however, Mitch McConnell advised him that the Republican majority would break with tradition and refuse to take any action on the President’s nomination. McConnell would later say: "One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, 'Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.' " As justification, McConnell said, "Of course the American people should have a say in the court's direction.”
The election of our next President is already underway and millions of Americans have already voted. Republicans sense their defeat, not just in the White House but in the Senate. With control of the Presidency and both branches of Congress, the Democrats are positioned to add as many seats as they see fit.
Every action has a reaction - it’s a basic law of physics.
The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind finely.
What goes around comes around ..