Sponsors (6)
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress February 25, 2026
The bill creates an independent ethics office that increases transparency, oversight, and accountability for Supreme Court Justices — but it does so at added taxpayer cost and raises constitutional, politicization, and confidentiality risks that could lead to litigation and institutional friction.
All Americans gain a dedicated independent Office to investigate Supreme Court ethics complaints and recommend remedies, increasing the likelihood that misconduct is identified and addressed.
The bill creates regular reporting and disclosure channels (to the Chief Justice, Congress, and potentially the public) about ethics advice and investigations, improving transparency and congressional oversight of the Court.
Serious misconduct discovered by the Office is more likely to be referred promptly to the Department of Justice, increasing accountability for potential criminal behavior by Justices.
Taxpayers and the Court will incur new recurring personnel and administrative costs to staff high-salary investigative and ethics counsel positions.
Granting subpoena and nationwide investigative authority to an Office inside the Supreme Court could trigger constitutional or separation-of-powers legal challenges, producing litigation, delays, and uncertainty about the Office's powers.
Allowing specified congressional leaders to file complaints risks politicizing investigations and inviting partisan or strategic filings against Justices.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates two Supreme Court offices for ethics advice and investigation, sets appointment, pay, subpoena power, reporting, and disclosure rules.
Creates two new offices inside the Supreme Court: an Office of Ethics Counsel to advise Justices (and their spouses) on ethics matters, and an Office of Investigative Counsel to receive, review, and investigate ethics complaints about Justices and their families. The bill sets appointment rules, minimum pay levels, term limits, training and reporting requirements, investigative powers including nationwide subpoena authority, procedures for handling complaints and reports to Congress, and a severability clause.