Sponsors (87)
Replaces life tenure with single 18‑year active terms for new Supreme Court justices, sets scheduled nominations and Senate deadlines, and allows temporary assignment of retired justices.
Official title: To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the duration of active service of justices of the Supreme Court, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Hank Johnson · Last progress May 21, 2025
The bill trades clearer, more regular turnover and quicker temporary staffing to keep the Court functioning for risks to democratic legitimacy, potential constitutional challenges, reduced judicial continuity, and incentives for strategic manipulation of retirements.
All Americans (taxpayers) gain a more predictable, staggered schedule of Supreme Court appointments (regular single 18-year terms and fixed nomination years), reducing lifetime ideological entrenchment and making the timing of nominations more foreseeable.
Litigants, state governments, and taxpayers face fewer and shorter Court vacancies because statutory deadlines for initial Senate action (and term limits) shorten prolonged vacancies and reduce uncertainty about Court composition.
When the Court lacks a full active bench, all litigants and taxpayers benefit from temporary substitute (retired) justices who can be quickly and predictably assigned so the Court can continue deciding cases without new confirmations.
All Americans and litigants risk having major cases decided by unelected, unconfirmed retired justices who can cast deciding votes without Senate approval, raising democratic‑legitimacy concerns.
The statute's constraints on how and when the President must make nominations (forced timing and appointment mechanics) could conflict with the Constitution and invite costly legal challenges and disruption to the appointment process.
The system could incentivize strategic retirements or timing delays to manipulate Court composition using retired justices, enabling political actors to game the Court's membership.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates a statutory system replacing indefinite life tenure on the Supreme Court with single 18-year active terms for justices, with two scheduled nominations per presidential four-year cycle and set Senate consideration deadlines. Allows the Chief Justice to assign retired Supreme Court justices temporarily to sit as associate justices through a public, randomized selection when the Court has fewer active members than the statute requires. Applies the new retirement rule to current justices by triggering retirements in order of longest service as new justices are commissioned, and updates cross-references for temporary assignments of retired justices. The bill does not specify new funding or create other agency obligations in addition to changes to Title 28 and one cross-reference amendment.