Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2025

Key Points

• Tells the Supreme Court to create a written code of conduct within 180 days, with public notice and a chance for people to comment.
• Requires the Court to post its ethics rules online in a searchable, downloadable format, so the public can easily see what the rules are.
• Creates a formal way for people to file ethics complaints against Supreme Court justices, with investigations handled by a panel of 5 randomly chosen chief circuit judges.
• Tightens recusal (stepping aside) rules when there are possible conflicts, including certain ties to lobbying contacts or gifts/income, and requires quick notice to the parties when a conflict is found.
• Adds new disclosure rules for friend-of-the-court briefs, including naming major funders, and requires studies and audits on how well judges follow conflict-of-interest rules.