Sponsors (6)
The bill strengthens judicial ethics and public transparency by forcing financial interests into blind trusts and publishing attestations, at the cost of added compliance complexity, expense, and delayed access to assets for judges and their families.
Federal judges and their families will face fewer conflicts of interest because covered financial interests must be placed in qualified blind trusts (within 90 days), reducing the likelihood judges act on cases where they hold relevant investments.
The public and taxpayers will gain greater transparency about judges' steps to avoid conflicts because attestation statements will be posted to a searchable Ethics in Government Act database.
Federal judges and their families will face increased administrative burden and potential out-of-pocket costs to set up and maintain qualified blind trusts on tight deadlines (90 days to place assets, 15 days to file attestations); the bill's broad definition of covered financial interests (including commodities, futures, synthetic instruments) will likely increase the number and complexity of the
Federal judges and their families may have delayed access to assets and limited ability to manage estates because trusts cannot be controlled or dissolved until 180 days after leaving office, creating potential liquidity and estate‑planning constraints.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal judges and their close family to place most financial holdings into qualified blind trusts, file attestations, and publicly disclose them within set deadlines.
Official title: To amend title 28, United States Code, to require justices, judges, magistrate judges, or bankruptcy judges and their spouses and dependent children to place certain assets into qualified blind trusts, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 20, 2026 by Hank Johnson · Last progress July 20, 2026
Requires federal judges, magistrate and bankruptcy judges, Supreme Court justices, and their spouses and dependent children to place broad categories of financial assets into qualified blind trusts within set deadlines and to file written attestations that are publicly posted. It narrows what a judge must investigate in a qualified blind trust (no duty to identify instruments beyond initial disclosed assets), allows spouses' trusts to be combined, forbids control or dissolution of trust assets until 180 days after leaving office, and directs the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to post attestations on the searchable Ethics in Government Act database.