Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act of 2026
This bill would fundamentally change how Supreme Court justices are appointed and how long they serve by establishing a fixed schedule of biennial appointments. Under the new rules, the President could only nominate one justice every two years, specifically within the first 120 days of their term or following a rejected nomination, ensuring that the total number of justices hearing appellate cases never exceeds nine. Additionally, the legislation sets a 14-year term limit for each justice, meaning their service would end automatically when their term expires rather than continuing for life. These changes aim to reduce the impact of single appointments on the court's composition for decades while maintaining the current nine-justice quorum for most cases.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jul 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Jul 22, 2026
Last action Jul 22, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jul 22, 2026
Committee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
upper
Jul 22, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 10 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Sheldon Whitehouse
DDemocratic
Co
Adam B. Schiff
DDemocratic
Co
Alex Padilla
DDemocratic
Co
Brian Schatz
DDemocratic
Co
Cory A. Booker
DDemocratic
Co
Jeff Merkley
DDemocratic
Co
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
DDemocratic
Co
Mazie K. Hirono
DDemocratic
Co
Patty Murray
DDemocratic
Co
Peter Welch
DDemocratic
Co
Richard Blumenthal
DDemocratic
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