What's Going To Happen To The Supreme Court? House Democrats Seek To Limit Terms To 18 Years

A group of House Democrats are drafting a bill that would limit the terms of Supreme Court justices to 18 years. Justices are appointed to a lifetime appointment, often leading to partisan battles.

The legislation, titled the Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act, allows every president to appoint two justices per four-year term, according to Reuters. The bill would exempt current justices on the court from the 18-year term limit.

“It would save the country a lot of agony and help lower the temperature over fights for the court that go to the fault lines of cultural issues and is one of the primary things tearing at our social fabric,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said about the legislation. Khanna will introduce the bill on Tuesday with Reps. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., and Don Beyer, D-Va.

The recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has resulted in a nationwide debate. Ginsburg, nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993, was considered to be part of the liberal wing of the court. Her death on Friday caused contention on Capitol Hill with a possible Senate vote looming despite an upcoming presidential election.

President Donald Trump intends to name a conservative justice on Saturday, which would shift the ideological balance of the court. There would likely be a 6-3 conservative majority, meaning abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act could be in jeopardy. In response, some liberals have suggested that the court should be expanded beyond nine justices. If Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the election in November, and the Democrats retake the Senate, legislation could be passed to pack the Supreme Court.

In 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to pack the court in order to push through his New Deal agenda, as the nation grappled with the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s court-packing plan ultimately failed after it was held up in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Biden has shot down any ideas of court-packing. Yet, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said if Republicans move to replace Ginsburg before the election, “then nothing is off the table for next year.”

Trump is considering judges Amy Coney Barrett or Barbara Lagoa to replace Ginsburg. It will be his third Supreme Court appointment, following nominations of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.