The record

LegislationLegislation· Sep 2025
HR 5125 Passed House — in Senate

Sponsored by Pete Sessions (R)

District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act of 2025

Eliminates the DC Judicial Nomination Commission and lets the President appoint judges directly.

Tradeoff

Removes an independent review process for District of Columbia Superior Court and Court of Appeals judges. The President gains sole power to nominate and appoint chief judges without commission recommendation.

What's in it

See official bill text

Increases federal costs by less than $500,000 over 2025-2030.

The less-than-$500,000 figure represents only the federal cost to administer the new appointment system; the policy's real impact is structural—it concentrates judicial appointment power in the presidency and eliminates the District's Judicial Nomination Commission, fundamentally changing how D.C. court judges are selected.

H.R. 5125, District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act of 2025 · Sep 2025

The House passed this 218-211 on September 17, 2025 — now in the Senate.

  1. House

    Introduced

    (Sep 4, 2025)

  2. House

    Committee on Oversight and Government Reform(Sep 4, 2025)

  3. House

    The committee voted to send it to the floor

    Reported 25 - 20(Sep 10, 2025)

  4. House

    Passage of the bill

    Passed(Roll #274 · Sep 17, 2025)

    218 yeanay 211

  5. Senate

    Received from the House

    Received(Sep 18, 2025)

Passage votes so far· Sep 17, 2025· 119th Congress · 2025–2027