Justice Clarence Thomas is on track to become the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court, according to a new report.
Thomas, 68, would break the record in 2028, which means he would have served 37 years on the court, the Washington Examiner reported.
The current record-holder for longest-serving justice is William O. Douglas, a Franklin D. Roosevelt pick who served on the court for 36 years.
An actuarial report said Thomas would be the first justice to serve more than 40 years if he stays on the court until he’s 83.
The report shows that future presidents will not get a chance to nominate Supreme Court justices as often, citing Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch as an example of a trend that shows that if younger justices are nominated to the Supreme Court, the less often presidents will be able to appoint new justices due to lifetime appointment rules.
The report even suggests that two-term presidents may not even get a chance to nominate a justice at all.
An average of 49 justices are named to the Supreme Court every 100 years, but with younger justices, that average goes down to 25 every 100 years, according to the report.
The Oliver Wyman firm, the group that authored this report, did a study on the impact of an 18-year term limit and found that the appointment rate would return to 49 every 100 years.
It also said that this would increase the chances that a single president would be responsible for naming the majority of Supreme Court justices that serve over a 100-year period.
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