Whitehouse, Booker, Blumenthal, Padilla Reintroduce Supreme Court Term Limits Bill to Restore Americans’ Trust in the Court

Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act ensures new justices take the bench every two years, establishes 18-year terms in which justices participate in the Court's full docket of cases

Washington, D.C. - As Americans' approval of the Supreme Court nears a historic low, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced their Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits (BATL) Act, legislation to establish 18-year term limits and regularized appointments for Supreme Court justices. Under the legislation, a new justice would take the bench every two years and spend 18 years participating in all Supreme Court cases, after which the justice would be limited to hearing a small number of constitutionally required cases.

"The Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United decision supercharged an organized, dark-money funded scheme by right-wing special interests to capture and control the Court. The result is a distorted judicial process that sides with the wealthiest interests at the expense of ordinary Americans, and President Trump is only eager to keep up the scheme to consolidate his own power," said Senator Whitehouse, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee. "Term limits and regular appointments would make the Court more representative of everyday Americans and help restore the Supreme Court to the proper independent body it was created to be. More than ever, it's important we get this right."

"It is unacceptable that our highest court has the lowest standards of accountability, and no one should hold immense, unchecked power for decades in the manner our Court currently operates. The Supreme Court is not the possession of any president or political party; it is a sacred institution meant to reflect our nation across generations, not a single political moment. This legislation strengthens trust in our highest Court, protects its impartiality, and ensures it can fulfill its constitutional purpose: delivering equal justice for every American," said Senator Booker.

"As the Supreme Court faces a legitimacy crisis, fundamental reforms are needed to restore trust and credibility. Implementing term limits would make the Court more representative of America, and preserve an institution that is increasingly influenced by toxic politics and partisan obstruction. This legislation is critical to the Supreme Court's survival as an independent branch of government, and its accountability to the American people," said Senator Blumenthal.

"The Supreme Court has reached unprecedented and unacceptable levels of politicization," said Senator Padilla. "Term limits are a commonsense solution to lower the temperature on the Judiciary and start restoring trust in the highest court in our land."

Right-wing billionaires, the fossil fuel industry, and other special interests have spent hundreds of millions to capture the Supreme Court by dictating who gets appointed to the Court and building a flotilla of front groups to influence how those appointees rule. The justices that these special interests have selected and ushered onto the Court have repeatedly greenlighted donor-friendly policies, reshaping American life in ways that are out of step with the American people. The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act is an effort to depoliticize the appointment of Supreme Court justices and ensure the Court serves the American people-not billionaires.

The Court primarily hears cases that are brought under the Court's "appellate jurisdiction"-cases decided by lower courts that are appealed to the Supreme Court. These include major cases like Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Shelby County v. Holder,and Citizens United v. FEC. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate which of these cases the Court hears. Relying on that authority, the Supreme Court BATL Act would allow only the nine most recently appointed justices to sit for appellate jurisdiction cases. The justices who no longer hear appellate jurisdiction cases would retain the authority to hear "original jurisdiction" cases-as the Constitution requires of justices-and to exercise all other powers of the office. If one of the justices who regularly hears appellate jurisdiction cases has a conflict of interest or is otherwise unavailable to hear a case, another justice who hears only original jurisdiction cases may fill in.

The legislation also creates regular appointments of Supreme Court justices every two years by requiring the president, within the first 120 days of the first and third years of the president's term, to appoint one Supreme Court justice, by and which the advice and consent of the Senate. The bill would not take effect until the start of the first new presidential term after the bill is enacted.

The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act is endorsed by the Brennan Center for Justice, National Women's Law Center Action Fund, Public Citizen, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Alliance for Justice, People for the American Way, Newtown Action Alliance, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Stand Up America, True North Research, End Citizens United, Voto Latino, and Reproductive Freedom for All.

"The Supreme Court needs term limits. It has vast power and minimal accountability. A single justice can now shape the law for generations. This is at odds with the democratic principle that no one should hold too much power for too long. At a time when trust in the Court is hovering at record lows, term limits should be at the top of the list of reforms. It would bring new perspectives and voices on to the Court while strengthening the link between the Court and the American people. Congress should work to pass Supreme Court term limits into law," said Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice.

"We applaud the re-introduction of the term limits proposal spearheaded by Senate champions of a fair Supreme Court. We are all witnessing the disastrous consequences of the appointment of ideologues hand-picked to use judicial power to limit our freedoms. The regressive billionaires who have backed Leonard Leo's court capture agenda are counting on ringers, like Clarence Thomas, who are biased in their favor spending thirty or forty years dismantling our rights. This proposal-which limits the gaming of retirement for partisan purposes and disincentives the selection of young operatives for the bench-is one of several worthy reform initiatives that must be considered in order to restore and expand the rights of We the People in our democracy," said Lisa Graves, Executive Director of True North Research.

"Congress cannot remain passive while a corrupt Supreme Court continues to favor the powerful and harm the rest of us. The BATL Act recognizes that we can and we must structurally reform the Court," said Marge Baker, Executive Vice President at the People for the American Way.

"At one point, the U.S. Supreme Court was the most respected institution in American government - and it can be again. Today's Court has found itself being used as a tool in the middle of partisan politics. It has been packed with staunchly conservative justices out of touch with most Americans. The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act, introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and others, would restore balance to the Court by ensuring that every president, regardless of party, gets to nominate a justice to the Court in their first and third year of the term. The most recently appointed nine justices will hear appellate jurisdiction cases. The remaining justices will be rotated to hear only original jurisdiction cases. Public Citizen heartily supports this effort to bring balance back to the Supreme Court," said Craig Holman, Ph.D., of Public Citizen.

"Right-wing dark money groups orchestrated a capture of the Supreme Court over many decades. It's how we got Citizens United and a corrupt government that only works for its donors while failing the American people," said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. "The fix is simple: judicial term limits and biennial appointments would make the Court fairer, more accountable, and less susceptible to dangerous partisan schemes. This is a first step toward restoring public trust in an institution meant to be a last line of defense for justice and protecting Americans' rights. We're grateful to Senators Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Booker, and Padilla for their commitment to making government work for all Americans."

"Supreme Court justices hold too much power for too long. We applaud this common-sense solution to bring the Supreme Court in line with courts throughout the country and the world by ensuring regular turnover," said David Janovsky, Acting Director of the Project on Government Oversight.

"It's long past time for Congress enact serious reforms to ensure that the Supreme Court is made up of fair-minded, independent justices guided by the Constitution and the rule of law-not wealthy interests, political loyalty, or ideological agendas," said Alison Gill, senior director of democracy and nominations at the National Women's Law Center Action Fund. "This commonsense Supreme Court term limits bill would help restore public confidence in the Court's independence and integrity. At a time when public trust in the Court is at an all-time low, this legislation would take a meaningful step toward ensuring that the nation's highest court remains accountable to the Constitution-not politics."

"The Supreme Court's decision to take up the challenge to Connecticut's assault weapons ban-enacted after the Sandy Hook massacre to protect future generations from the same horror-underscores why Supreme Court reform can no longer wait," said Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance. "When a handful of lifetime-appointed justices can put lifesaving laws and millions of lives at risk decades after they were enacted, our democracy is out of balance. Biennial appointments and eighteen-year terms would restore accountability, reduce the political warfare surrounding every vacancy, and help ensure the Court remains connected to the American people it serves. Survivors should not have to relive their trauma every time the Court reconsiders whether their states have the constitutional right to protect themselves from weapons of war."

"Serious and repeated allegations of ethical misconduct at the Supreme Court have undermined public faith in the judiciary. This self-inflicted crisis raises serious concerns about whether the Supreme Court's credibility can survive without meaningful reform," said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act of 2026 is a strong response to this crisis. It uses the Court's jurisdiction to create term limits for Supreme Court justices and permits those justices whose terms have ended to retain their seats in a senior status position. This legislation could help both end partisan manipulation of the Court's composition and reduce ethics problems among justices. CREW commends Senators Whitehouse, Booker, Blumenthal, and Padilla for continuing to lead the charge on the need to address Supreme Court ethics and introducing this crucial piece of legislation."

"No one should hold power for life. Lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court give nine individuals the power to shape federal law for decades, if not generations. Eighteen years is long enough. Every major democracy in the world except the United States, and 49 of 50 states, limit their top judges with term limits, elections, or mandatory retirement ages. That's why three-fourths of Americans support term limits for Supreme Court justices. We applaud Senator Whitehouse's leadership and urge his Democratic colleagues to rally behind this commonsense legislation," said Brett Edkins, Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs at Stand Up America.

The United States is one of just five countries with life tenure for its highest court. The American people strongly favor making the Supreme Court more representative of and accountable to the public. Recent polling shows that two-thirds of Americans support term limits for Supreme Court justices.

Whitehouse is the Senate's leading voice for improving transparency and accountability at the Supreme Court, delivering a series of speeches on the Senate floor about the special interest scheme to remake the judicial branch. In March, he led 182 colleagues in both houses of Congress in reintroducing his DISCLOSE Act to end the scourge of dark money in our democracy. Last year, Whitehouse also reintroduced the bicameral Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, legislation that would require the justices to adopt a code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct and other laws, and improve disclosure and transparency at the Court.

The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Full text of the bill is available here.