District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act

This bill proposes to terminate the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, a seven-member body established in 1973 that currently screens and recommends candidates to the President for judgeships on the D.C. Superior Court and Court of Appeals. Under current law, the commission presents the President with a three-person shortlist for every vacant judgeship, which the President then nominates from and the Senate confirms. If enacted, this bill would remove the commission from the process, allowing the President to nominate judges directly without the commission's recommendations. The bill would also transfer the commission's responsibility for designating chief judges to the President.

The practical effect would be to streamline the judicial nomination process for Washington, D.C. courts by eliminating an intermediary step. Currently, the bill is in committee consideration in the Senate after being introduced in September 2025. A similar version passed the House in September 2025 on a party-line vote.