During his first term in office, President-elect Donald Trump helped shape America's highest judicial body with three lifetime appointments.

However, two lawmakers are attempting to dilute the effect of those appointments by imposing term limits on the Supreme Court. 

Justices would only be allowed to serve for 18 years

According to Newsweek, that effort is being pushed by Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who sits as an independent.

The pair have put forward a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment under which Supreme Court justices would be allowed to serve for a maximum of 18 years.

"Taking action to restore public trust in our nation's most powerful Court is as urgent as it is necessary," Welch was quoted as saying in a statement.

"Setting term limits for Supreme Court Justices will cut down on political gamesmanship, and is a commonsense reform supported by a majority of Americans," he added.

Manchin released a similar statement of his own, asserting that "[t]he current lifetime appointment structure is broken and fuels polarizing confirmation battles and political posturing that has eroded public confidence in the highest court in our land."

Elizabeth Warren suggested that changes could be made legislatively

Newsweek noted that Welch and Manchin are not the only ones pushing to change the Supreme Court, as Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is as well.

The magazine recalled how during a July appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Warren argued that neither term limits nor adding justices to the bench would require amending the constitution.

"We're working on changes to the Supreme Court," Warren said to host Jake Tapper. "It can be term limits; it could be adding the number of justices — things we can do without having to have a constitutional amendment."

President Biden said in tonight's Oval Office speech that he's going to seek significant changes to the Supreme Court. https://t.co/ktGr3NoCWP

— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 25, 2024

Warren's remarks came the same week that President Joe Biden also called for Supreme Court term limits as well as the creation of an enforceable ethics code.

Mike Johnson: Biden's proposal threatens "the rule of law"

That idea was met with fierce opposition from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who slammed it in a lengthy social media post.

"President Biden’s proposal to radically overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American people’s faith in our system of justice," Johnson wrote.

"This proposal is the logical conclusion to the Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Democrats’ ongoing efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court," he further insisted.