The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and President Trump’s determination to put a successor in place quickly has focused new attention on the Supreme Court. In recent presidential campaigns, Republicans more than Democrats have made selecting federal judges, especially Supreme Court justices, a top issue. Some Democrats are talking about enlarging the court if the Senate confirms a Trump nominee and Democrats take control of the White House and both legislative chambers. Earlier in the campaign, some Democratic candidates
proposed changes to the size of the Supreme Court and the tenure of its members.
Congress hasn’t changed the court’s size—nine justices—since the mid-19th century. The justices, like about half the roughly 2,000 federal judges, have tenure during what the Constitution calls “good Behaviour”—essentially for as long as they want to serve, subject only to rare legislative impeachments and removals.
Unsettled is whether Congress could limit justices’ tenure on the Supreme Court as long as it preserves their tenure as judges by reassigning them to other federal courts.