The bill would begin the constitutional amendment process which requires supermajority support in Congress and three quarters of the states for ratification
Two senators have introduced a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would impose term limits for members of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court unanimously adopted a code of conduct in November 2023 governing the justices’ behavior.
The new resolution, introduced on Dec. 5 by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) [pictured above], would limit newly appointed justices to 18 years on the bench, and lead to a new opening roughly every two years. To become effective, a constitutional amendment would have to be passed by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress and ratified by three-quarters of the states.
According to a summary provided by Welch, the amendment would not change the number of sitting justices, currently set at nine by law, and would establish a transition period to ensure vacancies occur at regular intervals.