Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization Act of 2025

Key Points

• Supreme Court justices would serve 18-year terms instead of life tenure. After 18 years, they would automatically move to retired status but could still hold their office in a reduced role.
• Every president would get two Supreme Court picks per four-year term, with nominations happening in the first and third years after a presidential election. This creates a predictable, regular cycle for replacing justices.
• Current justices would be phased out one at a time in order of seniority. The longest-serving justice would retire first, each time a new justice is appointed under the new system.
• If the court drops below nine active justices due to a vacancy, disability, or disqualification, a retired justice would be randomly selected to temporarily fill the seat until a new justice is appointed.
• The Senate would face a 90-day deadline to act on a nomination, with a 120-day deadline if the first nominee is withdrawn or rejected. This is designed to prevent the kind of indefinite delays that have blocked past nominations.
• No individual could serve more than one 18-year term on the Supreme Court, preventing any justice from being reappointed after their term ends.

Impact Analysis

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