<P> The chief justice, like all federal judges, is nominated by the President and confirmed to office by the U.S. Senate . Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution specifies that they "shall hold their Offices during good Behavior". This language means that the appointments are effectively for life, and that, once in office, a justice's tenure ends only when they die, retire, resign, or are removed from office through the impeachment process . Since 1789, 15 presidents have made a total of 22 official nominations to the position . </P> <P> The salary of the chief justice is set by Congress; the current (2018) annual salary is $267,000, which is slightly higher than that of associate justices, which is $255,300 . The practice of appointing an individual to serve as chief justice is grounded in tradition; while the Constitution mandates that there be a chief justice, it is silent on the subject of how one is chosen and by whom . There is no specific constitutional prohibition against using another method to select the chief justice from among those justices properly appointed and confirmed to the Supreme Court . Constitutional law scholar Todd Pettys has proposed that presidential appointment of chief justices should be done away with, and replaced by a process that permits the Justices to select their own chief justice . </P> <P> Three incumbent associate justices have been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate as chief justice: Edward Douglass White in 1910, Harlan Fiske Stone in 1941, and William Rehnquist in 1986 . A fourth, Abe Fortas, was nominated to the position in 1968, but was not confirmed . As an associate justice does not have to resign his or her seat on the Court in order to be nominated as chief justice, Fortas remained an associate justice . Similarly, when associate justice William Cushing was nominated and confirmed as chief justice in January 1796, but declined the office, he too remained on the Court . Two former associate justices subsequently returned to service on the Court as chief justice . John Rutledge was the first . President Washington gave him a recess appointment in 1795 . However, his subsequent nomination to the office was not confirmed by the Senate, and he left office and the Court . In 1933, former associate justice Charles Evans Hughes was confirmed as chief justice . Additionally, in December 1800, former chief justice John Jay was nominated and confirmed to the position a second time, but ultimately declined it; opening the way for the appointment of John Marshall . </P> <P> Along with his general responsibilities as a member of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice has several unique duties to fulfill . </P>

Who appoints the chief justice of the supreme court