District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act of 2025
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The bill would abolish the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, the intermediary body that currently screens and recommends candidates for DC Superior Court and Court of Appeals judgeships to the President. It would give the President full discretion to nominate DC judges without choosing from a commission-provided list, and would transfer the commission's power to designate chief judges to the President as well.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to eliminate the DC Judicial Nomination Commission entirely. Under current law, the commission assembles a vetted list of candidates and the President must select judicial nominees for DC's Superior Court and Court of Appeals from that list. The commission also designates the chief judges of those courts. This bill would strike the section of the Home Rule Act creating the commission, freeing the President to nominate any qualified person without being limited to a commission-recommended slate. The President would also assume the commission's role in designating chief judges.
The change would apply only to appointments made on or after the date of enactment. Senate confirmation of presidential nominees to DC courts would remain in place; the bill alters only the pre-nomination screening step, not the confirmation process.
Key provisions
- 1Would terminate the DC Judicial Nomination Commission by striking the section of the DC Home Rule Act that created it.
- 2Would transfer the power to designate chief judges of the DC Superior Court and Court of Appeals from the commission to the President.
- 3Would allow the President to nominate DC judges from any qualified candidate, removing the requirement to choose from a commission-recommended list.
- 4Would remove judge qualification criteria tied to commission membership, redesignating the remaining qualifications paragraphs accordingly.
- 5Would apply all amendments only to appointments made on or after the date of enactment.
Who would be affected
The DC Judicial Nomination Commission, which would be dissolved; the President, who would gain unconstrained nominating authority for DC judges; the Senate, whose confirmation role is unchanged; and attorneys and litigants who appear before the DC Superior Court and DC Court of Appeals, whose judiciary would be shaped by a less-screened nomination process.
Why it matters
Removing the commission eliminates a structured vetting layer that historically filtered candidates before presidential consideration, concentrating judicial selection power in the President alone. Supporters argue it restores presidential prerogative; critics may contend it reduces the role of independent legal expertise in staffing DC's local courts, affecting the bench that handles the vast majority of criminal and civil cases in the nation's capital.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Sec. 2)
Strikes section 434 (creating the Judicial Nomination Commission) and removes all references to the commission from the nomination and chief-judge appointment provisions.
Amends sec. 11-1528(a)(2), D.C. Official Code (Sec. 2(c))
Strikes subparagraph (C), a conforming change removing a reference to the now-terminated commission.
Effective dates
- All amendments apply to judicial appointments made on or after enactment
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5125 would increase federal costs by less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period.
H.R. 5125 would amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to abolish the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and give the President sole authority to appoint judges to D.C.'s courts. CBO estimates the bill would increase federal spending (direct costs to the government) by less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period — a negligible budgetary effect. The estimate was published September 15, 2025, based on the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on September 10, 2025. CBO did not identify any intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
The bill is largely self-executing: the relevant sections of the DC Home Rule Act and DC Official Code are struck or amended, and the commission ceases to exist upon enactment. No rulemaking is required. For future vacancies, the President would proceed to nominate candidates directly, with Senate confirmation following under existing procedures. The effective-date clause limits the change to appointments made on or after enactment, leaving any nomination already in progress under the prior commission process unaffected.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill terminates the District of Columbia (DC) Judicial Nomination Commission.
Currently, the commission recommends to the President nominees for judges for DC's Superior Court and Court of Appeals, who must then be confirmed by the Senate. The commission also appoints the chief judges for these courts. The bill terminates the commission's involvement in nominations and requires the President to appoint the chief judges.
Legislative subjects
Advisory bodies; District of Columbia; Judges; Law; Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents; State and local courts