©2026 League of Conservation Voters
Issues
Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) sponsored H.R. 5125, the District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act of 2025, which would abolish the District of Columbia (D.C.) Judicial Nomination Commission and its local democratic input on local judicial nominations. Because D.C. is not a state, the federal government wields far-reaching and undemocratic power over its local government, including D.C.’s local courts. Currently, the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission puts forward potential candidates for local court judges, who are then nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate in a process that is entirely different from equivalent state courts across the country where judges are chosen by voters or state officials. For far too long, residents of Washington, D.C. have been denied a vote in Congress and the ability to govern locally without federal interference. D.C. residents face a disproportionate impact of our federal government’s failure to act on climate and other pressing environmental harms. Low-income, Black, and Indigenous communities have historically suffered the consequences of pollution and public health risks, and D.C. residents, more than half of whom are people of color, have experienced this environmental racism for generations. On September 17, the House approved H.R. 5125 by a vote of 218-211 (House roll call vote 274). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The Senate took no action on this legislation in 2025.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters