Overview
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and a group of Senate Democrats formally reintroduced the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act on Wednesday to set regularized, staggered appointments for the high court.
- Under the bill a new justice would be seated every two years, each would serve 18 years on the Court’s full appellate docket before shifting to a reduced original‑jurisdiction role, and only the nine most recently confirmed justices would decide appeals.
- Backers say the plan relies on Congress’s constitutional power to regulate the Court’s appellate jurisdiction to avoid a formal amendment, but many legal scholars dispute that theory and say any law would almost certainly face prompt judicial review.
- The measure is sponsored only by Democrats and has little chance in the Republican‑led Senate, where leaders call it a form of court‑packing and some Republicans favor a constitutional amendment to fix the Court at nine.
- Supporters are promoting fresh polling that shows roughly two‑thirds support for 18‑year terms and point to the U.S. as an outlier for lifetime active service on its high court, a fact they say underpins the push for reform.