20 U.S.C. § 43 — Appointment of regents; terms of office; vacancies

Regents are appointed in different ways depending on which group they belong to. The three Senate regents are appointed by the President of the Senate. The three House regents are appointed by the Speaker of the House. The other nine regents are appointed by a joint resolution of Congress. The House-appointed regents serve two-year terms. Every other year, on the fourth Wednesday of December, a new set of House regents gets appointed the same way, and they serve until the fourth Wednesday in December two years later. The Senate-appointed regents serve for as long as they remain Senators — they don't need to be re-appointed as regents when they're re-elected to the Senate. If a regent's seat becomes vacant because of death, resignation, or any other reason, it's filled the same way vacancies on congressional committees are filled. The other nine regents normally serve six-year terms, and Congress fills those seats through new joint resolutions. If one of their seats becomes vacant for any reason, Congress fills it the same way — through a joint resolution.