Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Seeking 18-Year Term Limits For U.S. Supreme Court

PROVIDENCE, RI — U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), has introduced new legislation to establish 18-year term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Whitehouse, along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), on Thursday sponsored the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act.

Under the senators’ legislation, a new justice would take the bench every two years, replacing the most senior judge. They would spend 18 years participating in all Supreme Court cases, after which the justice would be limited to hearing a few constitutionally required cases.

"An organized scheme by right-wing special interests to capture and control the Supreme Court, aided by gobs of billionaire dark money flowing through the confirmation process and judicial lobbying, has resulted in an unaccountable court out of step with the American people," Whitehouse said. "Term limits and biennial appointments would make the court more representative of the public and lower the stakes of each justice’s appointment, while preserving constitutional protections for judicial independence."

If Whitehouse's bill became law, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts, both Republican appointees, would be the first to be replaced by whoever is elected president in 2024. Thomas has been a justice since 1991, while Roberts was appointed in 2005.

Both justices would still be allowed to hear cases under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction, but neither would be allowed to participate in the court's appellate docket. That is generally where the court's most high-profile and controversial decisions are made.

"As Congress considers multiple options to restore the integrity of this scandal-plagued court, our term limits bill should be front and center as a potential solution," Whitehouse said.

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