The Democratic Party’s increasing efforts to reform the Supreme Court are shifting from criticizing specific decisions to proposing fundamental changes to how the Court operates. While changing the number of justices is within Congress’s historic authority, proposals to impose term limits and other reforms raise constitutional questions.
On July 22, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act of 2026, which would set 18-year term limits for justices and require the President to appoint a new justice every two years, subject to Senate confirmation. The bill currently has 11 Democratic sponsors and cosponsors.
Whitehouse argues that the proposal is necessary because of the “constant and building dismay about the increasingly appalling record of the court.” Whitehouse is concerned about the “court’s misbehavior.”
