> Like the Associate Justices, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. There is no requirement that the Chief Justice serve

> Like the Associate Justices, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. There is no requirement that the Chief Justice serve as an Associate Justice, but 5 of the 17 Chief Justices have served on the Court as Associate Justices prior to becoming Chief Justice. From (https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_general.aspx). It would be pretty odd and a weird special casing compared to the norm if the president and congress were unable to nominate a given judge to a higher position within the overall US federal court system, solely because they were on SCOTUS.