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With the exception of temporary recess appointments, in order for a Justice to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court, they must be approved by a vote of the United States Senate after being nominated by the president of the United States Senate. Not all nominees put forward by presidents have advanced to confirmation votes.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Appointments Clause, empowers the President of the United States to nominate and, with the confirmation (advice and consent) of the United States Senate, appoint public officials, including justices of the Supreme Court. The president has the plenary power to nominate and to appoint, while the Senate possesses the plenary power to reject or confirm the nominee prior to their appointment. [1] [2]
Of the 163 nominations that presidents have submitted for the court, 137 have progressed to a full-Senate vote. 126 were confirmed by the Senate, while 11 were rejected. Of the 126 nominees that were confirmed, 119 served (seven of those who were confirmed declined to serve, while one died before taking office). [3] [4]
The last nomination confirmed by a voice vote was that of Abe Fortas on August 11, 1965. [3] The last time a roll call vote on a nomination was unanimous was that of Anthony Kennedy on February 3, 1988. [3]
The first of the eleven roll call votes to result in a rejection of a nomination was the December 15, 1795 vote on the nomination of John Rutledge for chief justice, and the most recent time was the October 23, 1887 vote on the nomination of Robert Bork. [3]
In March 1917, the procedure of a cloture vote was introduced to the Standing Rules of the United States Senate as a means of ending debate and proceeding to a vote. [5] Until 1975, cloture required the support threshold of two-thirds of senators present and voting. From 1975 until 2017, the threshold needed to invoke cloture for Supreme Court confirmation was three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn-in (60 senators, if there was no more than one seat left vacant). [2] On April 6, 2017, when considering the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, in a party-line vote the Republican Senate majority invoked the so-called "nuclear option", voting to reinterpret Senate Rule XXII and change the cloture vote threshold for Supreme Court nominations to a simple majority of senators present and voting. [2] [6] [7]
Nominee | Nominated by | Succession | Confirmation vote | Cite | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
President | Party of President | Preceding justice | Date of vote | Outcome | "Yea" votes | "Nay" votes | Majority party | Vote by party | |||||||
Total | % | Total | % | Federalist | Democratic-Republican | ||||||||||
Total yeas | Total nays | Total yeas | Total nays | ||||||||||||
John Jay | Washington | None | Inaugural (chief justice) | September 26, 1789 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Pro Admin | — | — | — | — | ||||
John Rutledge | Inaugural | September 26, 1789 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
William Cushing | Inaugural | September 26, 1789 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
James Wilson | Inaugural | September 26, 1789 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
John Blair Jr. | Inaugural | September 26, 1789 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Robert H. Harrison | Inaugural | September 26, 1789 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 1] | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
James Iredell | Inaugural | February 8, 1790 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Thomas Johnson [upper-alpha 2] | J. Rutledge | November 7, 1791 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
William Paterson | T. Johnson | March 4, 1793 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
John Rutledge [upper-alpha 2] | Jay (chief justice) | December 15, 1795 | Rejected [upper-alpha 3] | 10 | 41.67% | 14 | 58.33% | Federalist | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 | [8] [9] | ||
William Cushing [upper-alpha 4] | Rutledge (chief justice) | January 27, 1796 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 5] | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Samuel Chase | Blair | January 27, 1796 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Oliver Ellsworth | Rutledge (chief justice) | March 4, 1796 | Confirmed | 21 | 95.46% | 1 | 4.55% | ||||||||
Bushrod Washington [upper-alpha 2] | J. Adams | Federalist | Wilson | December 20, 1798 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||
Alfred Moore | Iredell | December 20, 1799 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
John Jay | Ellsworth (chief justice) | December 19, 1800 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 1] | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
John Marshall | Ellsworth (chief justice) | January 27, 1801 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
William Johnson | Jefferson | Democratic-Republican | Moore | March 24, 1804 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Democratic-Republican | — | — | — | — | ||||
Henry B. Livingston [upper-alpha 2] | Paterson | December 17, 1806 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Thomas Todd [upper-alpha 2] | New seat | March 2, 1807 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Levi Lincoln Sr. | Madison | W. Cushing | January 3, 1811 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 1] | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Alexander Wolcott | W. Cushing | February 4, 1811 | Rejected | 9 | 27.27% | 24 | 72.73% | ||||||||
John Quincy Adams | W. Cushing | February 22, 1811 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 1] | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Joseph Story | W. Cushing | November 18, 1811 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Gabriel Duvall | S. Chase | November 18, 1811 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Smith Thompson [upper-alpha 2] | Monroe | Livingston | December 9, 1823 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | ||||||
General sources: [2] [3] [10] [11] |
Nominee | Nominated by | Succession | Confirmation vote | Cite | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
President | Party of President | Preceding justice | Date of vote | Outcome | "Yea" votes | "Nay" votes | Majority party | Vote by party | |||||||||
Total | % | Total | % | Jacksonian | National Republican | Nullifier | |||||||||||
Total yeas | Total nays | Total yeas | Total nays | Total yeas | Total nays | ||||||||||||
Robert Trimble | J. Q. Adams | National Republican | Todd | May 9, 1826 | Confirmed | 27 | 84.38% | 5 | 15.63% | Jacksonian [upper-alpha 6] | 12 | 5 | 15 | 0 | — | — | [12] |
John McLean | Jackson | Jacksonian | Trimble | March 7, 1829 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Jacksonian | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Henry Baldwin | Washington | January 4, 1830 | Confirmed | 41 | 95.35% | 2 | 4.65% | 20 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | [13] [14] | |||
James Moore Wayne | W. Johnson | January 9, 1835 | Confirmed | Voice vote | National Republican | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Roger B. Taney | Marshall (chief justice) | March 15, 1836 | Confirmed | 29 | 65.91% | 15 | 34.09% | Jacksonian | 24 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 2 | [15] | ||
Philip P. Barbour | Duvall | March 15, 1836 | Confirmed | 30 | 73.17% | 11 | 26.83% | 24 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | [16] | |||
General sources: [2] [3] [10] |
Nominee | Nominated by | Succession | Confirmation vote | Cite | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
President | Party of President | Preceding justice | Date of vote | Outcome | "Yea" votes | "Nay" votes | Majority party | Vote by party | |||||||
Total | % | Total | % | Democratic | Whig | ||||||||||
Total yeas | Total nays | Total yeas | Total nays | ||||||||||||
John Catron | Jackson | Democratic | new seat | March 8, 1837 | Confirmed | 28 | 65.12% | 15 | 34.88% | Democratic | 26 | 2 | 2 | 13 | [17] |
William Smith | new seat | March 8, 1837 | Confirmed | 23 | 56.10% | 18 | 43.90% | 23 | 3 | 0 | 15 | [18] | |||
John McKinley [upper-alpha 2] | Van Buren | new seat | September 25, 1837 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Peter V. Daniel | Barbour | March 2, 1841 | Confirmed | 25 | 83.33% | 5 | 16.67% | 24 | 4 | 0 | 1 | [19] | |||
John Canfield Spencer | Tyler | None | Thompson | January 31, 1844 | Rejected | 21 | 44.68% | 26 | 55.32% | Whig | 16 | 5 | 5 | 21 | [20] |
Samuel Nelson | Thompson | February 14, 1845 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
George Washington Woodward | Polk | Democratic | Baldwin | January 22, 1846 | Rejected | 20 | 40.82% | 29 | 59.18% | Democratic | |||||
Levi Woodbury [upper-alpha 2] | Story | January 3, 1846 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Robert Cooper Grier | Baldwin | August 4, 1846 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Benjamin Robbins Curtis [upper-alpha 2] | Fillmore | Whig | Baldwin | December 23, 1851 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||
John Archibald Campbell | Pierce | Democratic Party | McKinley | March 22, 1853 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | |||||
General sources: [2] [3] [10] |
Nominee | Nominated by | Succession | Confirmation vote | Cite | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
President | Party of President | Preceding justice | Date of vote | Outcome | "Yea" votes | "Nay" votes | Majority party | Vote by party | |||||||||||
Total | % | Total | % | Democratic | Republican | Other Parties | |||||||||||||
Total yeas | Total nays | Total yeas | Total nays | Party name | Total yeas | Total nays | |||||||||||||
Nathan Clifford | Buchannan | Democratic | Curtis | January 12, 1858 | Confirmed | 26 | 53.06% | 23 | 46.94% | Democratic | 25 | 3 | 0 | 18 | Know Nothing | 1 | 2 | [21] | |
Samuel Freeman Miller | Lincoln | Republican | Daniel | January 16, 1862 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Republican | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
Noah Haynes Swayne | McLean | January 24, 1862 | Confirmed | 38 | 97.44% | 1 | 2.56% | 8 | 0 | 27 | 1 | Unionist | 3 | 0 | [22] | ||||
David Davis [upper-alpha 2] | Campbell | December 8, 1862 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Stephen Johnson Field | new seat | March 10, 1863 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Salmon P. Chase | Taney (chief justice) | December 6, 1864 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Edwin Stanton | Grant | Grier | December 20, 1869 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 7] | 46 | 80.70% | 11 | 19.30% | 0 | 9 | 46 | 3 | — | — | — | [23] | |||
Ebenezer R. Hoar | new seat | February 3, 1870 | Rejected | 24 | 42.11% | 33 | 57.90% | 0 | 9 | 24 | 24 | — | — | — | [24] | ||||
William Strong | Grier | February 18, 1870 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Joseph P. Bradley | new seat | March 21, 1870 | Confirmed | 46 | 83.64% | 9 | 16.36% | 9 | 0 | 37 | 9 | — | — | — | [25] | ||||
Ward Hunt | Nelson | December 11, 1872 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Morrison Waite | S. P. Chase (chief justice) | January 21, 1874 | Confirmed | 63 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 15 | 0 | 33 | 0 | Liberal Republican | 5 | 0 | [26] | ||||
John Marshall Harlan | Hayes | Davis | November 29, 1877 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
William Burnham Woods | Strong | December 21, 1880 | Confirmed | 39 | 82.98% | 8 | 17.02% | Democratic | 14 | 8 | 24 | 0 | Independents | 1 | 0 | [27] | |||
Stanley Matthews | Garfield | Swayne | May 12, 1881 | Confirmed | 24 | 51.06% | 23 | 48.94% | Split | ||||||||||
Horace Gray | Arthur | Clifford | December 20, 1881 | Confirmed | 51 | 91.07% | 5 | 8.93% | 21 | 5 | 29 | 0 | Independents | 1 | 0 | [28] | |||
Roscoe Conkling | Hunt | March 2, 1882 | Confirmed [upper-alpha 1] | 39 | 76.47% | 12 | 23.53% | ||||||||||||
Samuel Blatchford | Hunt | March 2, 1882 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar | Cleveland | Democratic | Woods | January 16, 1888 | Confirmed | 32 | 53.33% | 28 | 46.67% | Republican | |||||||||
Melville Fuller | Waite (chief justice) | July 20, 1888 | Confirmed | 41 | 67.21% | 20 | 32.79% | ||||||||||||
David J. Brewer | B. Harrison | Republican | Matthews | December 18, 1889 | Confirmed | 53 | 82.81% | 11 | 17.19% | 18 | 4 | 35 | 7 | — | — | — | [29] | ||
Henry Billings Brown | Miller | December 29, 1890 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
George Shiras Jr. | Bradley | July 26, 1892 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Howell Edmunds Jackson | L. Lamar | February 18, 1893 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
William B. Hornblower | Cleveland | Democratic | Blatchford | January 15, 1894 | Rejected | 24 | 44.44% | 30 | 55.56% | Democratic | |||||||||
Wheeler Hazard Peckham | Blatchford | February 16, 1894 | Rejected | 32 | 43.84% | 41 | 56.16% | ||||||||||||
Edward Douglas White | Blatchford | February 19, 1894 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Rufus W. Peckham | H. Jackson | December 9, 1895 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Republican | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Joseph McKenna | McKinley | Republican | Field | January 21, 1898 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | T. Roosevelt | Gray | December 4, 1902 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
William R. Day | Shiras | February 23, 1903 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
William Henry Moody | Brown | December 12, 1906 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Horace Harmon Lurton | Taft | R. Peckham | December 20, 1909 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Charles Evans Hughes | R. Peckham | May 2, 1910 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Edward Douglas White [upper-alpha 4] | Fuller (chief justice) | December 12, 1910 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Willis Van Devanter | E. D. White | December 15, 1910 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Joseph Rucker Lamar | Moody | December 15, 1910 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Mahlon Pitney | J. Harlan | March 12, 1912 | Confirmed | 50 | 65.79% | 26 | 34.21% | ||||||||||||
James Clark McReynolds | Wilson | Democratic | Lurton | August 29, 1914 | Confirmed | 50 | 65.79% | 26 | 34.21% | Democratic | Progressive | ||||||||
Louis Brandeis | J. Lamar | June 1, 1916 | Confirmed | 47 | 68.12% | 22 | 31.88% | 44 | 1 | 3 | 21 | — | — | — | [30] | ||||
John Hessin Clarke | Hughes | July 14, 1916 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
William Howard Taft | Harding | Republican | E. D. White | June 30, 1921 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Republican | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
George Sutherland | Clarke | September 5, 1922 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Pierce Butler | Day | December 5, 1922 | Confirmed | 61 | 88.41% | 8 | 11.59% | 21 | 5 | 40 | 3 | — | — | — | [31] | ||||
Edward Terry Sanford | Pitney | January 29, 1923 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Harlan F. Stone | Coolidge | McKenna | January 5, 1925 | Confirmed | 71 | 92.21% | 6 | 7.78% | 27 | 2 | 44 | 2 | Farmer-Labor | 0 | 2 | [32] | |||
Charles Evans Hughes | Hoover | Taft (chief justice) | February 13, 1930 | Confirmed | 52 | 66.67% | 26 | 33.33% | 14 | 15 | 38 | 11 | Farmer-Labor | 0 | 0 | [33] | |||
John J. Parker | Sanford | May 7, 1930 | Rejected | 39 | 48.75% | 41 | 51.25% | 10 | 23 | 29 | 17 | Farmer-Labor | 0 | 1 | [34] | ||||
Owen Roberts | Sanford | May 20, 1930 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Benjamin N. Cardozo | Holmes | February 15, 1932 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Hugo Black | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Van Devanter | August 17, 1937 | Confirmed | 63 | 79.75% | 16 | 20.25% | Democratic | 57 | 6 | 4 | 10 | Farmer-Labor | 1 | 0 | [35] | |
Wisconsin Progressive | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Independents | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Stanley Forman Reed | Sutherland | January 15, 1938 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Felix Frankfurter | Cardozo | January 5, 1939 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
William O. Douglas | Brandeis | March 20, 1939 | Confirmed | 62 | 93.94% | 4 | 6.06% | 50 | 0 | 9 | 4 | Farmer-Labor | 1 | 0 | [36] | ||||
Wisconsin Progressive | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Independents | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Frank Murphy | Butler | January 16, 1940 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
James F. Byrnes | McReynolds | June 12, 1941 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Harlan F. Stone [upper-alpha 4] | Hughes (chief justice) | June 27, 1941 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Robert H. Jackson | Stone | July 7, 1941 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Wiley Rutledge | Byrnes | February 8, 1943 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Harold Hitz Burton | Truman | O. Roberts | September 19, 1945 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Fred M. Vinson | Stone (chief justice) | June 20, 1946 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Tom C. Clark | Murphy | August 18, 1949 | Confirmed | 73 | 90.12% | 8 | 9.88% | 46 | 0 | 27 | 8 | — | — | — | [37] | ||||
Sherman Minton | W. Rutledge | October 4, 1949 | Confirmed | 48 | 75.00% | 16 | 25.00% | 36 | 2 | 12 | 14 | — | — | — | [38] | ||||
Earl Warren [upper-alpha 2] | Eisenhower | Republican | Vinson (chief justice) | March 1, 1954 | Confirmed | Voice vote | Republican | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
John Marshall Harlan II | R. Jackson | March 16, 1955 | Confirmed | 71 | 86.59% | 11 | 13.42% | Democratic | 32 | 9 | 39 | 2 | Independents | 0 | 0 | [39] | |||
William J. Brennan Jr. [upper-alpha 2] | Minton | March 19, 1957 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Charles Evans Whittaker | Reed | March 19, 1957 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Potter Stewart [upper-alpha 2] | Minton | May 5, 1959 | Confirmed | 70 | 80.46% | 17 | 19.54% | 42 | 17 | 28 | 0 | — | — | — | [40] | ||||
Byron White | Kennedy | Democratic | Whittaker | April 11, 1962 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Arthur Goldberg | Frankfurter | September 25, 1962 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
Abe Fortas | L Johnson | Goldberg | August 11, 1965 | Confirmed | Voice vote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Thurgood Marshall | Clark | August 30, 1967 | Confirmed | 69 | 86.25% | 11 | 13.75% | 37 | 10 | 32 | 1 | — | — | — | [41] | ||||
Warren E. Burger | Nixon | Republican | Warren (chief justice) | June 9, 1969 | Confirmed | 74 | 95.10% | 3 | 3.90% | 38 | 3 | 36 | 0 | — | — | — | [42] | ||
Clement Haynsworth | Fortas | November 21, 1969 | Rejected | 45 | 45.00% | 55 | 55.00% | 19 | 38 | 26 | 17 | — | — | — | [43] | ||||
G. Harrold Carswell | Fortas | April 8, 1970 | Rejected | 45 | 46.88% | 51 | 53.13% | 16 | 38 | 28 | 13 | Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | [44] [45] [46] | ||||
Harry Blackmun | Fortas | May 12, 1970 | Confirmed | 94 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 53 | 0 | 40 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | [45] [47] | ||||
Lewis F. Powell Jr. | H. Black | December 6, 1971 | Confirmed | 89 | 98.89% | 1 | 1.11% | 49 | 1 | 38 | 0 | Conservative Party of New York State | 1 | 0 | [48] | ||||
Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
William Rehnquist | J. Harlan II | December 10, 1971 | Confirmed | 68 | 72.34% | 26 | 27.66% | 29 | 23 | 37 | 3 | Conservative Party of New York State | 1 | 0 | [49] [50] [51] | ||||
Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
John Paul Stevens | Ford | Douglas | December 17, 1975 | Confirmed | 98 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 59 | 0 | 37 | 0 | Conservative Party of New York State | 1 | 0 | [52] | |||
Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Sandra Day O'Connor | Reagan | Stewart | Septemhber 21, 1981 | Confirmed | 99 | 100% | 0 | 0% | Republican | 45 | 0 | 53 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | [9] [53] | ||
William Rehnquist [upper-alpha 4] | Burger (chief justice) | September 17, 1986 | Confirmed | 65 | 66.33% | 33 | 33.67% | 16 | 31 | 49 | 2 | — | — | — | [54] | ||||
Antonin Scalia | Rehnquist | September 17, 1986 | Confirmed | 98 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 47 | 0 | 51 | 2 | — | — | — | [55] | ||||
Robert Bork | Powell | October 23, 1987 | Rejected | 42 | 42.00% | 58 | 58.00% | Democratic | 2 | 52 | 40 | 6 | — | — | — | [56] [57] | |||
Anthony Kennedy | Powell | February 3, 1988 | Confirmed | 97 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 51 | 0 | 46 | 0 | — | — | — | [58] | ||||
David Souter | G. H. W. Bush | Brennan | October 2, 1990 | Confirmed | 90 | 90.91% | 9 | 9.09% | 46 | 9 | 44 | 0 | — | — | — | [59] | |||
Clarence Thomas | T. Marshall | October 15, 1991 | Confirmed | 52 | 52.00% | 48 | 48.00% | 11 | 46 | 41 | 2 | — | — | — | [60] [61] | ||||
Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Clinton | Democratic | B. White | August 3, 1993 | Confirmed | 96 | 96.97% | 3 | 3.03% | 55 | 0 | 41 | 3 | — | — | — | [62] | ||
Stephen Breyer | Blackmun | July 29, 1994 | Confirmed | 87 | 90.63% | 9 | 9.38% | 54 | 0 | 33 | 9 | — | — | — | [63] | ||||
John Roberts | G. W. Bush | Republican | Rehnquist (chief justice) | September 29, 2005 | Confirmed | 78 | 78.00% | 22 | 22.00% | Republican | 22 | 22 | 55 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | [64] [65] | |
Samuel Alito | O'Connor | January 31, 2006 | Confirmed | 58 | 58.00% | 42 | 42.00% | 4 | 40 | 54 | 1 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 1 | [66] [67] | ||||
Sonia Sotomayor | Obama | Democratic | Souter | August 6, 2009 | Confirmed | 68 | 68.69% | 31 | 31.31% | Democratic | 57 | 0 | 9 | 31 | Independent Democrats | 2 | 0 | [68] [69] [70] | |
Elena Kagan | Stevens | August 5, 2010 | Confirmed | 63 | 63.00% | 37 | 37.00% | 56 | 1 | 5 | 36 | Independent Democrats | 2 | 0 | [71] | ||||
Neil Gorsuch | Trump | Republican | Scalia | April 7, 2017 | Confirmed | 54 | 54.55% | 45 | 45.45% | Republican | 3 | 43 | 51 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | [72] | |
Brett Kavanaugh | Kennedy | October 6, 2018 | Confirmed | 50 | 51.02% | 48 | 48.98% | 1 | 46 | 49 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | [73] | ||||
Amy Coney Barrett | Ginsburg | October 26, 2020 | Confirmed | 52 | 52.00% | 48 | 48.00% | 0 | 45 | 52 | 1 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | [74] | ||||
Ketanji Brown Jackson | Biden | Democratic | Breyer | April 7, 2022 | Confirmed | 53 | 53.00% | 47 | 47.00% | Democratic | 48 | 0 | 3 | 47 | Independent Democrats | 2 | 0 | [75] | |
General sources: [2] [3] [10] |
On occasion, a cloture vote has been taken in an effort to end Senate debate and allow a confirmation vote to take place.
Between the 1917 (when cloture was introduced to the Senate) and year 1975, cloture required the support threshold of two-thirds of senators present and voting. From 1975 until 2017, the threshold needed to invoke cloture for Supreme Court confirmation was three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn-in (60 senators, if there was no more than one seat left vacant). [2] On April 7, 2017, the votes of Democratic senators managed to deny enough support for cloture on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch. The Senate's Republican majority used the "nuclear option" to reduce the threshold for cloture to a simple 50% majority of votes, and Gorsuch met this new cloture threshold in the subsequent reconsideration. [7] Ever since this, the threshold has been a simple 50% majority of votes. [2]
The first attempt to invoke cloture on a Supreme Court nomination occurred in 1968 on the nomination to elevate Associate Justice Abe Fortas to chief justice. The first cloture motion to succeed was on the 1986 nomination to elevate Associate Justice William Rehnquist to chief justice. [76]
Nominee | Nominated by | Vote on cloture motion | Subsequent outcome | Cite | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
President | Party of President | Date of cloture motion | Outcome of cloture motion | "Yea" votes | "Nay" votes | Majority party | Vote by party | ||||||||||||
Total | % | Total | % | Democratic | Republican | Other Parties | |||||||||||||
Total yeas | Total nays | Total yeas | Total nays | Party name | Total yeas | Total nays | |||||||||||||
Abe Fortas [upper-alpha 4] | L. Johnson | Democratic | October 1, 1968 | Rejected | 45 | 51.14% | 43 | 48.86% | Democratic | 35 | 19 | 10 | 24 | — | — | — | Nomination was withdrawn [upper-alpha 8] on October 2, 1968 | [77] | |
William Rehnquist | Nixon | Republican | December 10, 1971 | Rejected | 52 | 55.32% | 42 | 44.68% | — | — | — | Motion to postpone confirmation (until January 18, 1972) rejected (22–70) on December 10, 1971; confirmed (68–26) on December 10, 1971 | |||||||
William Rehnquist [upper-alpha 4] | Reagan | September 17, 1986 | Successfully invoked | 68 | 68.04% | 31 | 25.77% | Republican | 16 | 31 | 52 | 0 | — | — | — | Confirmed (65–33) on September 17, 1986 | [78] | ||
Samuel Alito | G W Bush | January 30, 2006 | Successfully invoked | 72 | 74.23% | 25 | 25.77% | 19 | 24 | 53 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 1 | Confirmed (58–42) on January 31, 2006 | [79] | |||
Neil Gorsuch | Trump | April 6, 2017 | Rejected | 55 | 55.00% | 45 | 45.00% | 4 | 42 | 51 | 1 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | Confirmed (54–45) on April 7, 2017 | [80] | |||
Successfully invoked upon reconsideration (under new threshold) | 55 | 55.00% | 45 | 45.00% | 3 | 43 | 52 | 0 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
Brett Kavanaugh | October 5, 2018 | Successfully invoked | 51 | 51.00% | 49 | 49.00% | 1 | 46 | 50 | 1 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | Confirmed (50–48) on October 6, 2018 | [81] | ||||
Amy Coney Barrett | October 25, 2020 | Successfully invoked | 51 | 51.00% | 48 | 48.00% | 0 | 44 | 51 | 2 | Independent Democrats | 0 | 2 | Confirmed (52–48) on October 26, 2020 | [82] | ||||
Ketanji Brown Jackson | Biden | Democratic | April 7, 2022 | Successfully invoked | 53 | 53.00% | 47 | 47.00% | Democratic | 48 | 0 | 3 | 47 | Independent Democrats | 2 | 0 | Confirmed (53–47) on April 7, 2022 | [83] | |
General sources: [2] [3] [10] |
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Established by Article III of the Constitution, the detailed structure of the court was laid down by the 1st United States Congress in 1789. Congress specified the Court's original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the initial size of the Supreme Court. The number of justices on the Supreme Court changed six times before settling at the present total of nine in 1869. A total of 115 justices have served on the Supreme Court since 1789. Justices have life tenure, and so they serve until they die in office, resign or retire, or are impeached and removed from office.
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