The current Supreme Court justices are Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.1Supreme Court of the United States. Current Members Six were nominated by Republican presidents and three by Democratic presidents, producing a 6-3 conservative-leaning majority as of 2026.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
Roberts has served as the 17th Chief Justice since 2005, nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate 78-22.2The White House. Judicial Nominations – Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. He earned his law degree from Harvard, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review, worked in the Department of Justice and private practice, and sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 2003 until his elevation.3Federal Judicial Center. Roberts, John Glover, Jr.
The Chief Justice does more than vote. Roberts presides over oral arguments, runs the private conferences where justices discuss and vote on cases, and assigns the majority opinion whenever he votes with the winning side. If he is in dissent, the senior justice in the majority makes the assignment instead. He also chairs the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal courts’ policymaking body, and appoints its committee members.4United States Courts. About the Judicial Conference of the United States At inaugurations, the Chief Justice administers the presidential oath of office.
Associate Justices Appointed by Republican Presidents
Clarence Thomas
Thomas has sat on the Court since 1991, when he was nominated by President George H.W. Bush.5Congress.gov. Nomination of Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court of the United States, 102nd Congress He came from the D.C. Circuit and is closely associated with originalism, which reads the Constitution according to how its language was understood at the time it was written. At 77, Thomas is the longest-serving current justice and the oldest.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Alito joined the Court in 2006 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He had spent more than 15 years on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals before his elevation.6United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Court of Appeals Judges for the Third Circuit He favors a historical approach to legal texts and wrote the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Neil M. Gorsuch
Gorsuch was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2017 and came from the Tenth Circuit. He is a committed textualist, focusing on the plain meaning of statutory language rather than legislative history or congressional intent when a statute is ambiguous.7Oyez. Neil Gorsuch
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Trump nominated Kavanaugh in 2018. He had served more than 12 years on the D.C. Circuit and written over 300 opinions there before joining the Court. Earlier in his career, he worked as associate counsel and staff secretary in the George W. Bush White House.8Congressional Research Service. President Trump Nominates Judge Brett Kavanaugh – Initial Observations
Amy Coney Barrett
Barrett is Trump’s third appointee, confirmed in 2020. She came from the Seventh Circuit, where she built a record as an originalist. Before becoming a judge, she taught at Notre Dame Law School, focusing on constitutional and statutory interpretation.9Congressional Research Service. Judge Amy Coney Barrett – Selected Primary Material
Associate Justices Appointed by Democratic Presidents
Sonia Sotomayor
President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor in 2009, and she became the first Hispanic justice. She has an unusually broad judicial background among the current nine: President George H.W. Bush put her on the federal trial bench in 1992, and President Bill Clinton elevated her to the Second Circuit in 1998.10United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court – Sonia Sotomayor That mix of trial and appellate experience is rare on the current Court.
Elena Kagan
Obama also nominated Kagan, who joined in 2010 from outside the judiciary. She had served as the first female Solicitor General of the United States and as dean of Harvard Law School.11United States Department of Justice. Solicitor General – Elena Kagan Her opinions are known for their clarity, and her analysis often turns on how statutes actually operate.
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Jackson is the newest member, sworn in on June 30, 2022, after nomination by President Joe Biden. She is the first Black woman to serve on the Court. Her resume includes two years as an assistant federal public defender, so she is the only sitting justice who has represented criminal defendants in that capacity. She also served as a federal district court judge before a short tenure on the D.C. Circuit.12Justia. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Why These Nine Serve Together
Federal law fixes the Court at one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, with any six making a quorum.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 28 Section 1 The size changed six times early on before settling at nine in 1869.14Supreme Court of the United States. The Court as an Institution
Justices hold their seats for life. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution says federal judges serve “during good behavior,” which in practice means a justice stays until retirement, impeachment, or death.15Constitution Annotated. ArtIII.S1.10.2.1 Overview of Good Behavior Clause No Supreme Court justice has ever been removed through impeachment. Samuel Chase was impeached by the House in 1805 and acquitted by the Senate.
As of January 2026, the Chief Justice earns $320,700 per year, and each Associate Justice earns $306,600.16Federal Judicial Center. Judicial Salaries – Supreme Court Justices Every justice is entitled to four law clerks per term, usually recent law graduates who research cases, help draft opinions, and work through the thousands of certiorari petitions the Court receives each year.
Seats open only when a justice leaves. When one does, the President nominates a successor and the Senate votes on confirmation. The Constitution requires “advice and consent” but sets no qualifications, so there is no legal rule that a nominee hold a law degree or have judicial experience.17United States Courts. Nomination Process In modern practice, every nominee has been a seasoned legal professional. Since 1789, the Senate has considered 165 Supreme Court nominations and confirmed 128.18United States Senate. Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present) A rule change in 2017 ended the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, so a simple majority of 51 votes now suffices to confirm.