Congress·In Committee·S. 2854

District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act

D.C. Judicial Appointments: Removing the Nomination Commission

10 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill was introduced in the Senate and is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. It is in the early stages of the legislative process and is considered active. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill faces a difficult path because it reduces local control in D.C., which is a very controversial topic that usually splits lawmakers along party lines.

Key Points

This bill aims to change how judges are picked for local courts in Washington, D.C. It would eliminate the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, which is the group currently responsible for vetting and recommending candidates.
Under current law, the President must choose a judge from a list of three names provided by the commission. This bill would remove that requirement, allowing the President to nominate any person who meets the basic legal qualifications for the job.
The President would also gain the power to personally select the chief judges for the D.C. courts. Currently, the commission handles those designations, so this move shifts more authority to the White House.
This proposal would only affect new appointments made after the bill is signed into law. It would not remove any judges who are already serving on the bench in the District of Columbia.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Sep 18, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Sep 18, 2025

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act

Bill NumberS 2854

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.