* Denotes member or former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee

+ Denotes sponsor or cosponsor of bill(s) to limit justices’ terms to 18 years

SUPPORTIVE OF THE IDEA OR OPEN TO IT

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Nov. 30, 2023:
“I’ve never been a big supporter of term limits because I thought, there’s so many good people with so much experience to really be helpful. But I don’t know if that’s the fact any more, so I’ve said, ‘hey, wouldn’t it be great if we had one 18-year term for the Supreme Court? One 18-year term, that’s it.” [LINK]

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Oct. 27, 2022:
“I have listened to a number of proposals. And one of the proposals that I think might make sense is to put a limit on years of service on the Supreme Court to justices, while they could still then serve in other federal and other federal benches, so that we could have a predictable rotation of justices.” [LINK]

+*Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Aug. 2, 2022:
“Setting term limits would create predictability and lower the stakes of future confirmation proceedings, de-politicizing the Court. I’m proud to partner with Senators Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Schatz, and Hirono to introduce this bill [S. 4706 to place term limits on the justices].” [LINK]

+*Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Aug. 2, 2022:
“Term limits need to be one part of the conversation about reforming the Supreme Court, which has been captured by big special interests. Our legislation is a starting point for a national conversation about how best to fix a captive institution and make it more accountable to the people it is supposed to serve.” [LINK]

+*Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Aug. 2, 2022:
“Term limits will help restore credibility and trust to our nation’s highest court. Detached from the public and more politicized than ever, the Supreme Court will continue to face a crisis of legitimacy without fundamental reform.” [LINK]

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), July 17, 2022:
“I am considering whether the right idea would be to have term limits for Supreme Court justices as a way of trying to depoliticize the confirmation process that frankly has been destroyed by the United States Senate.” [LINK]

*Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), July 13, 2022:
Via The Hill: “Klobuchar said she has always been open to expanding the court and imposing term limits on justices, adding she ‘continue[s] to think we should look at those’ reforms.” [LINK]

+*Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), May 17, 2021:
“There’s nothing written in the Constitution about the size of the court. You can cycle circuit court judges through the courts. You can have term limits. […] So, there are a number of things that [can] happen.” [LINK]

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mar. 2, 2021:
“I think it’s definitely worthy of discussion to have term limits for the Supreme Court. I think there have been too many cases over the history of the Supreme Court where justices have remained as a justice when they start showing signs of age. And that’s a big responsibility and there ought to be some kind of limits.” [LINK]

*Then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), May 15, 2019:
“There is no question that the American public — you and I — are rightly experiencing a crisis of confidence in the United States Supreme Court, […] and I’m open to this conversation […] about applying term limits to [those] who serve on the court.” [LINK]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Apr. 1, 2019:
What I do think may make sense, is if not term limits, then rotating judges to the appeals court, as well. [LINK]

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jan. 22, 2019:
“[Term limits or adding justices] are interesting ideas that I would need to think more about. ” [LINK]

*Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), Dec. 6, 2018:
“I would sure love to have the debate [over Supreme Court term limits]. I don’t know exactly how I would come down, but it’s certainly worth talking about.” [LINK]

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dec. 6, 2018:
“We have a real problem with a Supreme Court that has become increasingly political. […] There are a lot of different ideas on the table for how to get the politics back out of our court system and make the judiciary truly independent and representative of the people of the United States. I think we’ll be talking about a lot of different approaches over the next several months.” [LINK]

*Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Oct. 4, 2018:
“[Term limits for the Supreme Court] has been discussed. One of the real merits of that proposal, in the abstract, is that you could set it up such that every presidency had a certain number of predictable Supreme Court seats. So, look, there is some intellectual appeal to the idea.” [LINK]

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jan. 4, 2016:
“I am supporter […] of a constitutional convention of the states so we can pass term limits on members of Congress and the Supreme Court.” [LINK]

*Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), June 26, 2015:
“The Framers of our Constitution, despite their foresight and wisdom, did not anticipate judicial tyranny on this scale. […] Sadly, the court’s hubris and thirst for power have reached unprecedented levels. That calls for meaningful action.” [LINK]

*Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Sept. 2012:
“But what if justices were not appointed for life? Or, more precisely, what if they did not serve on the Supreme Court for life? One way to foster a more circumspect attitude toward the Court’s role is to change the justices’ incentives in deciding cases. If they know they will not remain on the Court for an extended period of time, and that the rules they craft will shortly be applied by someone else, they may be far less likely to charge so eagerly into constitutional politics. Article III demands that judges be appointed for life, but it does not necessarily require that Supreme Court justices serve for life — provided they remain judges when not on the Court. […] The rotation of the judges on and off the Court could easily be staggered to ensure some continuity from year to year. Justices would thus acquire incentives for caution and moderation rather than judicial aggrandizement.” [LINK]

ON THE FENCE

*Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), July 2, 2015:
“[Though] lifetime judicial appointments aren’t perfect, the system is an important part of our constitutional design, which has thrived for more than 200 years. Any proposal to change it warrants the high degree of scrutiny required of amendments to our founding charter.” [LINK]

NOT SO OPEN TO THE IDEA

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), July 2, 2019:
“[Tester] also answered a question about term limits for the Supreme Court, saying he did not support term limits.” [LINK]

*Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dec. 6, 2018:
“I think the [Founders] got [life tenure] right when they first started the thing.” [LINK]

*Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Oct. 24, 2018:
“I believe that Americans benefit from having life tenure for Supreme Court justices since judges are insulated from political influence over their actions.” [Letter on file with FTC]