Sponsors (11)
The bill strengthens continuity and predictability for Supreme Court staffing by mandating prompt succession and timelines to restore a nine-justice Court, but it does so by imposing binding timing and counting rules that risk constitutional challenges, increased politicization, and rushed or gap-ridden appointments.
All Americans (litigants and taxpayers) and the federal judiciary: the bill clarifies temporary succession and requires that permanent vacancies be filled so the Supreme Court can continue functioning and be restored to a full nine-justice bench, reducing the risk of stalled cases and decisions.
Presidents, the Senate, nominees, and the public: the bill creates predictable 120-day timelines for nominating and confirming justices, which can reduce prolonged vacancies and uncertainty about Court composition.
Presidents, Senators, and constitutional actors: the statute-like timing rules could prompt separation-of-powers disputes by constraining the advice-and-consent process, risking litigation and institutional conflict.
Voters and the public's confidence in the judiciary: the bill's counting rules and prohibitions create opportunities to manipulate who counts as eligible to hear appellate cases, which could be exploited to block or politicize appointments.
Presidents, nominees, Senators, and the confirmation process: rigid 120-day deadlines can force rushed nominations and confirmations, increasing political pressure and possibly reducing thorough vetting of nominees.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires Presidents to nominate/appoint Supreme Court justices on a fixed biennial schedule, defines vacancy types, and sets when new justices' terms begin.
Official title: Amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the regularized appointment of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 22, 2026 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress July 22, 2026
Rewrites federal law governing Supreme Court succession and sets a recurring appointment schedule: the President must nominate a justice within the first 120 days of the 1st and 3rd years of each presidential term and fill permanent Chief Justice vacancies as specified. The bill defines permanent and temporary vacancies, restricts certain appointment timing when nine justices are sitting, and sets when new justices' terms begin. It becomes operative at the start of the next full Presidential term after enactment.