This excerpt is from a piece by Rachel Rossi that originally ran at the Brennan Center for Justice on March 24, 2026.
But term limits seek to eliminate speculation and opportunities to politically manipulate who sits on the bench. By setting finite schedules for justices’ tenure, term limits create the opportunity to normalize the schedule by which vacancies open — guaranteeing that no president will have more control over vacancies than any other.
The proposals for instituting Supreme Court term limits, such as Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)’s Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization (TERM) Act, specify not only a term limit of 18 years, but also that each justice’s term would be segmented by two years. This results in every president having the opportunity to appoint exactly two justices — specifically during their first and third years. This would not change if a justice dies or otherwise steps down before their term is complete. One of the senior justices who has already completed their term can simply fill in until the next regular opportunity for an appointment arrives. Alternatively, legislation could allow appeals court judges to randomly fill in “by designation” on cases where justices are unavailable, a practice already widely used by various states’ supreme courts.
Thus, justices could no longer try to strategically time retirement under a president with similar political leanings, and Senate leaders could no longer keep seats open or rush nominees through at the last minute.
Explore the Brennan Center’s full Perspectives on Supreme Court Term Limits series.