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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 Court was organized by the 1st United States Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789, which specified its original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the size of the Supreme Court at six, with one chief justice and five associate justices. [1] During the 19th century, Congress changed the size of the Court on seven occasions, concluding with the Judiciary Act of 1869 which stipulates that the Court consists of the chief justice and eight associate justices. [2]
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power to the president of the United States to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the United States Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Nominations to the Supreme Court are considered to be official when the Senate receives a signed nomination letter from the president naming the nominee, which is then entered in the Senate's record. Since 1789, there have been 165 formal nominations (of 146 persons) to the Supreme Court; 128 of them (123 persons) have been confirmed. [3] The most recent nomination to be confirmed was that of Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022. [4] Of the 37 that were unsuccessful, 11 nominees were rejected in Senate roll-call votes, 12 were withdrawn by the president, and 14 lapsed at the end of a session of Congress. Six of these unsuccessful nominees were subsequently nominated and confirmed to other seats on the Court. [5] Additionally, although confirmed, seven nominees either declined office or (in one instance) died before assuming office. [3]
An important role in this process is played by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which conducts a comprehensive evaluation of a nominee's background and qualifications before the Senate considers the nomination. Once confirmed to a seat on the Court, justices have life tenure, and so they serve until they die in office, resign or retire, or are impeached and removed from office. Even so, as it requires a separate presidential appointment, an incumbent associate justice who is nominated to be chief justice must undergo the confirmation process again. [5]
On rare occasions, presidents have made Supreme Court appointments without the Senate's consent, when the Senate is in recess. Such "recess appointments", however, are temporary, expiring at the end of the Senate's next session. Presidents have made recess appointments on 12 occasions, most recently in 1958. Every recess appointed justice was later nominated to the same position, and all but one—John Rutledge in 1795 to be chief justice—was confirmed by the Senate. [5] The 1795 Rutledge nomination was the first Supreme Court nomination to be rejected by the Senate; the most recent nomination to be voted down was that of Robert Bork in 1987. [3] George Washington holds the record for most Supreme Court nominations, with 14 nominations (12 of which were confirmed). Four presidents—William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson, and Jimmy Carter—did not make any nominations, as there were no vacancies while they were in office. [5]
The table below lists all persons nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court since 1789, in chronological order by date of nomination, along with the actions taken by the president and the Senate on those nominations. Specifically, the table lists the following for each Supreme Court nomination:
The following final results of the nomination process are tracked:
Additionally, where the final Senate action on a nomination was a roll-call vote (as opposed to a voice vote or unanimous consent), the totals for and against are noted.
In listing all persons ever nominated to the Supreme Court, the table includes the names of those who were not confirmed as well as those who were confirmed but did not assume office. For a list solely of the 115 individuals who assumed office and served on the Court, see List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Not included in the table are intended nominees, announced presidential selections whose names were withdrawn prior to being formally submitted to the Senate, [upper-alpha 1] as such persons were never officially nominated to the Court.
Nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States since 1789 [3] [5] [8] [9] | |||||||
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Nominee | Nominated by | Succession | Nomination | ||||
Name | President | Party | Justice | Senate Majority party [10] | Date submitted | Outcome (vote) and date | No. of Days |
John Jay | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Sep. 24, 1789 | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | 2 |
John Rutledge | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Sep. 24, 1789 | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | 2 |
William Cushing | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Sep. 24, 1789 | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | 2 |
Robert H. Harrison | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Sep. 24, 1789 | confirmed [upper-alpha 2] Sep. 26, 1789 | 2 |
James Wilson | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Sep. 24, 1789 | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | 2 |
John Blair Jr. | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Sep. 24, 1789 | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | 2 |
James Iredell | Washington | None | Inaugural | Pro Admin | Feb. 8, 1790 | confirmed Feb. 10, 1790 | 2 |
Thomas Johnson [upper-alpha 3] | Washington | None | J. Rutledge | Pro Admin | Oct. 31, 1791 | confirmed Nov. 7, 1791 | 7 |
William Paterson | Washington | None | T. Johnson | Pro Admin | Feb. 27, 1793 | withdrawn Feb. 28, 1793 | 1 |
William Paterson | Washington | None | T. Johnson | Pro Admin | Mar. 4, 1793 | confirmed Mar. 4, 1793 | 0 |
John Rutledge [upper-alpha 3] | Washington | None | Jay | Federalist | Dec. 10, 1795 | rejected (10–14) Dec. 15, 1795 [11] | 5 |
William Cushing [upper-alpha 4] | Washington | None | Rutledge | Federalist | Jan. 26, 1796 | confirmed [upper-alpha 5] Jan. 27, 1796 | 1 |
Samuel Chase | Washington | None | Blair | Federalist | Jan. 26, 1796 | confirmed Jan. 27, 1796 | 1 |
Oliver Ellsworth | Washington | None | Rutledge | Federalist | Mar. 3, 1796 | confirmed (21–1) Mar. 4, 1796 [12] | 1 |
Bushrod Washington [upper-alpha 3] | J. Adams | Federalist | Wilson | Federalist | Dec. 19, 1798 | confirmed Dec. 20, 1798 | 1 |
Alfred Moore | J. Adams | Federalist | Iredell | Federalist | Dec. 4, 1799 | confirmed Dec. 10, 1799 | 6 |
John Jay | J. Adams | Federalist | Ellsworth | Federalist | Dec. 18, 1800 | confirmed [upper-alpha 2] Dec. 19, 1800 | 1 |
John Marshall | J. Adams | Federalist | Ellsworth | Federalist | Jan. 20, 1801 | confirmed Jan. 27, 1801 | 7 |
William Johnson | Jefferson | Dem-Rep | Moore | Dem-Rep | Mar. 22, 1804 | confirmed Mar. 24, 1804 | 2 |
Henry B. Livingston [upper-alpha 3] | Jefferson | Dem-Rep | Paterson | Dem-Rep | Dec. 13, 1806 | confirmed Dec. 17, 1806 | 4 |
Thomas Todd | Jefferson | Dem-Rep | new seat | Dem-Rep | Feb. 28, 1807 | confirmed Mar. 2, 1807 | 2 |
Levi Lincoln Sr. | Madison | Dem-Rep | W. Cushing | Dem-Rep | Jan. 2, 1811 | confirmed [upper-alpha 2] Jan. 3, 1811 | 1 |
Alexander Wolcott | Madison | Dem-Rep | W. Cushing | Dem-Rep | Feb. 4, 1811 | rejected (9–24) Feb. 13, 1811 [13] | 9 |
John Quincy Adams | Madison | Dem-Rep | W. Cushing | Dem-Rep | Feb. 21, 1811 | confirmed [upper-alpha 2] Feb. 22, 1811 | 1 |
Gabriel Duvall | Madison | Dem-Rep | S. Chase | Dem-Rep | Nov. 15, 1811 | confirmed Nov. 18, 1811 | 3 |
Joseph Story | Madison | Dem-Rep | W. Cushing | Dem-Rep | Nov. 15, 1811 | confirmed Nov. 18, 1811 | 3 |
Smith Thompson [upper-alpha 3] | Monroe | Dem-Rep | Livingston | Dem-Rep | Dec. 5, 1823 | confirmed Dec. 9, 1823 | 4 |
Robert Trimble | J. Q. Adams | Adams Rep | Todd | Jacksonian | Apr. 11, 1826 | confirmed (27–5) May 9, 1826 [14] | 28 |
John J. Crittenden | J. Q. Adams | Adams Rep | Trimble | Jacksonian | Dec. 17, 1828 | postponed (23–17) February 12, 1829 [15] | |
John McLean | Jackson | Jacksonian | Trimble | Jacksonian | Mar. 6, 1829 | confirmed Mar. 7, 1829 | 1 |
Henry Baldwin | Jackson | Jacksonian | Washington | Jacksonian | Jan. 4, 1830 | confirmed (41–2) Jan. 6, 1830 [16] | 2 |
James Moore Wayne | Jackson | Democratic | W. Johnson | Natl Rep | Jan. 6, 1835 | confirmed Jan. 9, 1835 | 3 |
Roger B. Taney | Jackson | Democratic | Duvall | Natl Rep | Jan. 15, 1835 | postponed (23–22) March 3, 1835 [17] | |
Roger B. Taney | Jackson | Democratic | Marshall | Democratic | Dec. 28, 1835 | confirmed (29–15) Mar. 15, 1836 [18] | 78 |
Philip P. Barbour | Jackson | Democratic | Duvall | Democratic | Dec. 28, 1835 | confirmed (30–11) Mar. 15, 1836 [19] | 78 |
John Catron | Jackson | Democratic | new seat | Democratic | Mar. 3, 1837 | confirmed (28–15) Mar. 8, 1837 [20] | 5 |
William Smith | Jackson | Democratic | new seat | Democratic | Mar. 3, 1837 | confirmed [upper-alpha 2] (23–18) Mar. 8, 1837 [21] | 5 |
John McKinley [upper-alpha 3] | Van Buren | Democratic | new seat | Democratic | Sep. 18, 1837 | confirmed Sep. 25, 1837 | 7 |
Peter Vivian Daniel | Van Buren | Democratic | Barbour | Democratic | Feb. 26, 1841 | confirmed (25–5) Mar. 2, 1841 [22] | 4 |
John C. Spencer | Tyler | None | Thompson | Whig | Jan. 8, 1844 | rejected (21–26) Jan. 31, 1844 [23] | 23 |
Reuben Walworth | Tyler | None | Thompson | Whig | Mar. 13, 1844 | withdrawn June 17, 1844 [upper-alpha 7] | 96 |
Edward King | Tyler | None | Baldwin | Whig | June 5, 1844 | postponed (29–18) Jun. 15, 1844 [25] | |
John C. Spencer | Tyler | None | Thompson | Whig | June 17, 1844 | withdrawn June 17, 1844 | 0 |
Reuben Walworth | Tyler | None | Thompson | Whig | June 17, 1844 | lapsed | N/A |
Reuben Walworth | Tyler | None | Thompson | Whig | Dec. 4, 1844 | withdrawn Feb. 6, 1845 | 64 |
Edward King | Tyler | None | Baldwin | Whig | Dec. 4, 1844 | withdrawn Feb. 8, 1845 | 66 |
Samuel Nelson | Tyler | None | Thompson | Whig | Feb. 4, 1845 | confirmed Feb. 14, 1845 | 10 |
John M. Read | Tyler | None | Baldwin | Whig | Feb. 7, 1845 | lapsed | N/A |
George Woodward | Polk | Democratic | Baldwin | Democratic | Dec. 23, 1845 | rejected (20–29) Jan. 22, 1846 [26] | 30 |
Levi Woodbury [upper-alpha 3] | Polk | Democratic | Story | Democratic | Dec. 23, 1845 | confirmed Jan. 3, 1846 | 11 |
Robert Cooper Grier | Polk | Democratic | Baldwin | Democratic | Aug. 3, 1846 | confirmed Aug. 4, 1846 | 1 |
Benjamin R. Curtis [upper-alpha 3] | Fillmore | Whig | Woodbury | Democratic | Dec. 11, 1851 | confirmed Dec. 23, 1851 | 12 |
Edward A. Bradford | Fillmore | Whig | McKinley | Democratic | Aug. 16, 1852 | Tabled Aug. 31, 1852 | |
George E. Badger | Fillmore | Whig | McKinley | Democratic | Jan. 3, 1853 | Postponed Feb. 11, 1853 [27] | 40 |
William C. Micou | Fillmore | Whig | McKinley | Democratic | Feb. 14, 1853 | lapsed | N/A |
John A. Campbell | Pierce | Democratic | McKinley | Democratic | Mar. 21, 1853 | confirmed Mar. 22, 1853 | 1 |
Nathan Clifford | Buchanan | Democratic | Curtis | Democratic | Dec. 9, 1857 | confirmed (26–23) Jan. 12, 1858 [28] | 34 |
Jeremiah S. Black | Buchanan | Democratic | Daniel | Democratic | Feb. 5, 1861 | lapsed [upper-alpha 8] | N/A |
Noah Haynes Swayne | Lincoln | Republican | McLean | Republican | Jan. 21, 1862 | confirmed (38–1) Jan. 24, 1862 [30] | 3 |
Samuel Freeman Miller | Lincoln | Republican | Daniel | Republican | July 16, 1862 | confirmed July 16, 1862 | 0 |
David Davis [upper-alpha 3] | Lincoln | Republican | Campbell | Republican | Dec. 1, 1862 | confirmed Dec. 8, 1862 | 7 |
Stephen Johnson Field | Lincoln | Republican | new seat | Republican | Mar. 6, 1863 | confirmed Mar. 10, 1863 | 4 |
Salmon P. Chase | Lincoln | Republican | Taney | Republican | Dec. 6, 1864 | confirmed Dec. 6, 1864 | 0 |
Henry Stanbery | A. Johnson | Natl Union | Catron | Republican | Apr. 16, 1866 | lapsed [upper-alpha 9] | N/A |
Ebenezer R. Hoar | Grant | Republican | new seat | Republican | Dec. 14, 1869 | rejected (24–33) Feb. 3, 1870 [31] | 51 |
Edwin Stanton | Grant | Republican | Grier | Republican | Dec. 20, 1869 | confirmed [upper-alpha 10] (46–11) Dec. 20, 1869 [32] | 0 |
William Strong | Grant | Republican | Grier | Republican | Feb. 7, 1870 | confirmed Feb. 18, 1870 | 11 |
Joseph P. Bradley | Grant | Republican | new seat | Republican | Feb. 7, 1870 | confirmed (46–9) Mar. 21, 1870 [33] | 42 |
Ward Hunt | Grant | Republican | Nelson | Republican | Dec. 3, 1872 | confirmed Dec. 11, 1872 | 8 |
George Henry Williams | Grant | Republican | S. P. Chase | Republican | Dec. 1, 1873 | withdrawn Jan. 8, 1874 | 38 |
Caleb Cushing | Grant | Republican | S. P. Chase | Republican | Jan. 9, 1874 | withdrawn Jan. 13, 1874 | 4 |
Morrison Waite | Grant | Republican | S. P. Chase | Republican | Jan. 19, 1874 | confirmed (63–0) Jan. 21, 1874 [34] | 2 |
John Marshall Harlan | Hayes | Republican | Davis | Republican | Oct. 16, 1877 | confirmed Nov. 29, 1877 | 44 |
William Burnham Woods | Hayes | Republican | Strong | Democratic | Dec. 15, 1880 | confirmed (39–8) Dec. 21, 1880 [35] | 6 |
Stanley Matthews | Hayes | Republican | Swayne | Democratic | Jan. 26, 1881 | lapsed | N/A |
Stanley Matthews | Garfield | Republican | Swayne | Republican | Mar. 14, 1881 | confirmed (24–23) May 12, 1881 [36] | 59 |
Horace Gray | Arthur | Republican | Clifford | Split | Dec. 19, 1881 | confirmed (51–5) Dec. 20, 1881 [37] | 1 |
Roscoe Conkling | Arthur | Republican | Hunt | Split | Feb. 24, 1882 | confirmed [upper-alpha 2] (39–12) Mar. 2, 1882 [38] | 6 |
Samuel Blatchford | Arthur | Republican | Hunt | Split | Mar. 13, 1882 | confirmed Mar. 22, 1882 | 9 |
Lucius Q. C. Lamar II | Cleveland | Democratic | Woods | Republican | Dec. 6, 1887 | confirmed (32–28) Jan. 16, 1888 [39] | 41 |
Melville Fuller | Cleveland | Democratic | Waite | Republican | Apr. 30, 1888 | confirmed (41–20) July 20, 1888 [40] | 81 |
David Josiah Brewer | B. Harrison | Republican | Matthews | Republican | Dec. 4, 1889 | confirmed (53–11) Dec. 18, 1889 [41] | 14 |
Henry Billings Brown | B. Harrison | Republican | Miller | Republican | Dec. 23, 1890 | confirmed Dec. 29, 1890 | 6 |
George Shiras Jr. | B. Harrison | Republican | Bradley | Republican | July 19, 1892 | confirmed July 26, 1892 | 7 |
Howell E. Jackson | B. Harrison | Republican | L. Lamar | Republican | Feb. 2, 1893 | confirmed Feb. 18, 1893 | 16 |
William B. Hornblower | Cleveland | Democratic | Blatchford | Democratic | Sep. 19, 1893 | lapsed | N/A |
William B. Hornblower | Cleveland | Democratic | Blatchford | Democratic | Dec. 5, 1893 | rejected (24–30) Jan. 15, 1894 [42] | 41 |
Wheeler H. Peckham | Cleveland | Democratic | Blatchford | Democratic | Jan. 22, 1894 | rejected (32–41) Feb. 16, 1894 [43] | 25 |
Edward D. White | Cleveland | Democratic | Blatchford | Democratic | Feb. 19, 1894 | confirmed Feb. 19, 1894 | 0 |
Rufus W. Peckham | Cleveland | Democratic | H. Jackson | Republican | Dec. 3, 1895 | confirmed Dec. 9, 1895 | 6 |
Joseph McKenna | McKinley | Republican | Field | Republican | Dec. 16, 1897 | confirmed Jan. 21, 1898 | 36 |
Oliver W. Holmes Jr. | T. Roosevelt | Republican | Gray | Republican | Dec. 2, 1902 | confirmed Dec. 4, 1902 | 2 |
William R. Day | T. Roosevelt | Republican | Shiras | Republican | Feb. 19, 1903 | confirmed Feb. 23, 1903 | 4 |
William Henry Moody | T. Roosevelt | Republican | Brown | Republican | Dec. 3, 1906 | confirmed Dec. 12, 1906 | 9 |
Horace Harmon Lurton | Taft | Republican | R. Peckham | Republican | Dec. 13, 1909 | confirmed Dec. 20, 1909 | 7 |
Charles Evans Hughes | Taft | Republican | Brewer | Republican | Apr. 25, 1910 | confirmed May 2, 1910 | 7 |
Edward D. White [upper-alpha 4] | Taft | Republican | Fuller | Republican | Dec. 12, 1910 | confirmed Dec. 12, 1910 | 0 |
Willis Van Devanter | Taft | Republican | E. D. White | Republican | Dec. 12, 1910 | confirmed Dec. 15, 1910 | 3 |
Joseph Rucker Lamar | Taft | Republican | Moody | Republican | Dec. 12, 1910 | confirmed Dec. 15, 1910 | 3 |
Mahlon Pitney | Taft | Republican | J. Harlan | Republican | Feb. 19, 1912 | confirmed (50–26) Mar. 13, 1912 [44] | 23 |
James C. McReynolds | Wilson | Democratic | Lurton | Democratic | Aug. 19, 1914 | confirmed (44–6) Aug. 29, 1914 | 10 |
Louis Brandeis | Wilson | Democratic | J. Lamar | Democratic | Jan. 28, 1916 | confirmed (47–22) June 1, 1916 [45] | 125 |
John Hessin Clarke | Wilson | Democratic | Hughes | Democratic | July 14, 1916 | confirmed July 24, 1916 | 10 |
William Howard Taft | Harding | Republican | E. D. White | Republican | June 30, 1921 | confirmed June 30, 1921 | 0 |
George Sutherland | Harding | Republican | Clarke | Republican | Sep. 5, 1922 | confirmed Sep. 5, 1922 | 0 |
Pierce Butler | Harding | Republican | Day | Republican | Nov. 21, 1922 | lapsed | N/A |
Pierce Butler | Harding | Republican | Day | Republican | Dec. 5, 1922 | confirmed (61–8) Dec. 21, 1922 [46] | 16 |
Edward Terry Sanford | Harding | Republican | Pitney | Republican | Jan. 24, 1923 | confirmed Jan. 29, 1923 | 5 |
Harlan F. Stone | Coolidge | Republican | McKenna | Republican | Jan. 5, 1925 | confirmed (71–6) Feb. 5, 1925 [47] | 31 |
Charles Evans Hughes | Hoover | Republican | Taft | Republican | Feb. 3, 1930 | confirmed (52–26) Feb. 13, 1930 May 7, 1930 [48] | 10 |
John J. Parker | Hoover | Republican | Sanford | Republican | Mar. 21, 1930 | rejected (39–41) May 7, 1930 [49] | 47 |
Owen Roberts | Hoover | Republican | Sanford | Republican | May 9, 1930 | confirmed May 20, 1930 | 11 |
Benjamin N. Cardozo | Hoover | Republican | Holmes | Republican | Feb. 15, 1932 | confirmed Feb. 24, 1932 | 9 |
Hugo Black | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Van Devanter | Democratic | Aug. 12, 1937 [upper-alpha 11] | confirmed (63–16) Aug. 17, 1937 [50] | 5 |
Stanley Forman Reed | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Sutherland | Democratic | Jan. 15, 1938 | confirmed Jan. 25, 1938 | 10 |
Felix Frankfurter | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Cardozo | Democratic | Jan. 5, 1939 | confirmed Jan. 17, 1939 | 12 |
William O. Douglas | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Brandeis | Democratic | Mar. 20, 1939 | confirmed (62–4) Apr. 4, 1939 [51] | 15 |
Frank Murphy | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Butler | Democratic | Jan. 4, 1940 | confirmed Jan. 16, 1940 | 14 |
Harlan F. Stone [upper-alpha 4] | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Hughes | Democratic | June 12, 1941 | confirmed June 27, 1941 | 15 |
James F. Byrnes | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | McReynolds | Democratic | June 12, 1941 | confirmed June 12, 1941 | 0 |
Robert H. Jackson | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Stone | Democratic | June 12, 1941 | confirmed July 7, 1941 | 25 |
Wiley Rutledge | F. D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Byrnes | Democratic | Jan. 11, 1943 | confirmed Feb. 8, 1943 | 28 |
Harold Hitz Burton | Truman | Democratic | O. Roberts | Democratic | Sep. 19, 1945 | confirmed Sep. 19, 1945 | 0 |
Fred M. Vinson | Truman | Democratic | Stone | Democratic | June 6, 1946 | confirmed June 20, 1946 | 14 |
Tom C. Clark | Truman | Democratic | Murphy | Democratic | Aug. 2, 1949 | confirmed (73–8) Aug. 18, 1949 [52] | 16 |
Sherman Minton | Truman | Democratic | W. Rutledge | Democratic | Sep. 15, 1949 | confirmed (48–16) Oct. 4, 1949 [53] | 19 |
Earl Warren [upper-alpha 3] | Eisenhower | Republican | Vinson | Republican | Jan. 11, 1954 | confirmed Mar. 1, 1954 | 49 |
John Marshall Harlan II | Eisenhower | Republican | R. Jackson | Republican | Nov. 9, 1954 | lapsed | N/A |
John Marshall Harlan II | Eisenhower | Republican | R. Jackson | Democratic | Jan. 10, 1955 | confirmed (71–11) Mar. 16, 1955 [54] | 65 |
William J. Brennan Jr. [upper-alpha 3] | Eisenhower | Republican | Minton | Democratic | Jan. 14, 1957 | confirmed Mar. 19, 1957 | 64 |
Charles Evans Whittaker | Eisenhower | Republican | Reed | Democratic | Mar. 2, 1957 | confirmed Mar. 19, 1957 | 17 |
Potter Stewart [upper-alpha 3] | Eisenhower | Republican | Burton | Democratic | Jan. 17, 1959 | confirmed (70–17) May 5, 1959 [55] | 108 |
Byron White | Kennedy | Democratic | Whittaker | Democratic | Apr. 3, 1962 | confirmed Apr. 11, 1962 | 8 |
Arthur Goldberg | Kennedy | Democratic | Frankfurter | Democratic | Aug. 31, 1962 | confirmed Sep. 25, 1962 | 25 |
Abe Fortas | L. Johnson | Democratic | Goldberg | Democratic | July 28, 1965 | confirmed Aug. 11, 1965 | 14 |
Thurgood Marshall | L. Johnson | Democratic | Clark | Democratic | June 13, 1967 | confirmed (69–11) Aug. 30, 1967 [56] | 78 |
Abe Fortas [upper-alpha 4] | L. Johnson | Democratic | Warren | Democratic | June 26, 1968 | withdrawn [upper-alpha 12] Oct. 2, 1968 | 98 |
Homer Thornberry | L. Johnson | Democratic | Fortas | Democratic | June 26, 1968 | withdrawn Oct. 2, 1968 | 98 |
Warren E. Burger | Nixon | Republican | Warren | Democratic | May 23, 1969 | confirmed (74–3) June 9, 1969 [57] | 17 |
Clement Haynsworth | Nixon | Republican | Fortas | Democratic | Aug. 21, 1969 | rejected (45–55) Nov. 21, 1969 [58] | 92 |
G. Harrold Carswell | Nixon | Republican | Fortas | Democratic | Jan. 19, 1970 | rejected (45–51) Apr. 8, 1970 [59] | 79 |
Harry Blackmun | Nixon | Republican | Fortas | Democratic | Apr. 15, 1970 | confirmed (94–0) May 12, 1970 [60] | 27 |
Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Nixon | Republican | H. Black | Democratic | Oct. 22, 1971 | confirmed (89–1) Dec. 6, 1971 [61] | 45 |
William Rehnquist | Nixon | Republican | J. Harlan II | Democratic | Oct. 22, 1971 | confirmed (68–26) Dec. 10, 1971 [62] | 49 |
John Paul Stevens | Ford | Republican | Douglas | Democratic | Nov. 28, 1975 | confirmed (98–0) Dec. 17, 1975 [63] | 19 |
Sandra Day O'Connor | Reagan | Republican | Stewart | Republican | Aug. 19, 1981 | confirmed (99–0) Sep. 21, 1981 [64] | 33 |
William Rehnquist [upper-alpha 4] | Reagan | Republican | Burger | Republican | June 20, 1986 | confirmed (65–33) Sep. 17, 1986 [65] | 89 |
Antonin Scalia | Reagan | Republican | Rehnquist | Republican | June 24, 1986 | confirmed (98–0) Sep. 17, 1986 [66] | 85 |
Robert Bork | Reagan | Republican | Powell | Democratic | July 1, 1987 | rejected (42–58) Oct. 23, 1987 [67] | 114 |
Anthony Kennedy | Reagan | Republican | Powell | Democratic | Nov. 30, 1987 | confirmed (97–0) Feb. 3, 1988 [68] | 65 |
David Souter | G. H. W. Bush | Republican | Brennan | Democratic | July 25, 1990 | confirmed (90–9) Oct. 2, 1990 [69] | 69 |
Clarence Thomas | G. H. W. Bush | Republican | T. Marshall | Democratic | July 8, 1991 | confirmed (52–48) Oct. 15, 1991 [70] | 99 |
Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Clinton | Democratic | B. White | Democratic | June 22, 1993 | confirmed (96–3) Aug. 3, 1993 [71] | 42 |
Stephen Breyer | Clinton | Democratic | Blackmun | Democratic | May 17, 1994 | confirmed (87–9) July 29, 1994 [72] | 73 |
John Roberts | G. W. Bush | Republican | O'Connor | Republican | July 29, 2005 | withdrawn Sep. 6, 2005 | 39 |
John Roberts | G. W. Bush | Republican | Rehnquist | Republican | Sep. 6, 2005 | confirmed (78–22) Sep. 29, 2005 [73] | 23 |
Harriet Miers | G. W. Bush | Republican | O'Connor | Republican | Oct. 7, 2005 | withdrawn Oct. 28, 2005 | 21 |
Samuel Alito | G. W. Bush | Republican | O'Connor | Republican | Nov. 10, 2005 | confirmed (58–42) Jan. 31, 2006 [74] | 82 |
Sonia Sotomayor | Obama | Democratic | Souter | Democratic | June 1, 2009 | confirmed (68–31) Aug. 6, 2009 [75] | 66 |
Elena Kagan | Obama | Democratic | Stevens | Democratic | May 10, 2010 | confirmed (63–37) Aug. 5, 2010 [76] | 87 |
Merrick Garland | Obama | Democratic | Scalia | Republican | Mar. 16, 2016 | lapsed | 293 [77] |
Neil Gorsuch | Trump | Republican | Scalia | Republican | Feb. 1, 2017 | confirmed (54–45) Apr. 7, 2017 [78] | 65 |
Brett Kavanaugh | Trump | Republican | Kennedy | Republican | July 10, 2018 | confirmed (50–48) Oct. 6, 2018 [79] | 88 |
Amy Coney Barrett | Trump | Republican | Ginsburg | Republican | Sep. 29, 2020 | confirmed (52–48) Oct. 26, 2020 [80] | 27 |
Ketanji Brown Jackson | Biden | Democratic | Breyer | Democratic | Feb. 28, 2022 | confirmed (53–47) Apr. 7, 2022 [81] | 38 |
Name | President | Party | Justice | Senate Majority party | Date submitted | Outcome (vote) and date | No. of Days |
The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants plenary power to the president of the United States to nominate, and, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, appoint "Judges of the supreme Court", who serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and convicted. The existence of a chief justice is only explicit in Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 which states that the chief justice shall preside over the impeachment trial of the president; this has occurred three times, for Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and for Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
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U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
On May 10, 2010, President Barack Obama announced his selection of Elena Kagan for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Kagan's nomination was confirmed by a 63–37 vote of the United States Senate on August 5, 2010. When nominated, Kagan was Solicitor General of the United States, a position to which Obama had appointed her in March 2009. Kagan was the first Supreme Court nominee since Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981 to not be a sitting circuit court judge and the most recent such nominee as of 2023. She was the first Supreme Court nominee since William Rehnquist and Lewis F. Powell Jr. in 1971 to not be a sitting judge on any court.
The Rutledge Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United States from June to December 1795, when John Rutledge served as the second Chief Justice of the United States. Rutledge took office as a recess appointment of President George Washington to succeed John Jay. However, Rutledge was denied confirmation by the United States Senate, partly due to his attacks on the Jay Treaty. Rutledge was succeeded in office by Oliver Ellsworth. This was the first time that the Senate rejected a Supreme Court nomination; it remains the only time a "recess appointed" justice was not subsequently confirmed by the Senate. Rutledge's tenure as Chief Justice lasted for only 138 days, and the court only decided two cases under his leadership.
Florence Yu Pan is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022 and a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2021.
Arianna Julia Freeman is an American lawyer from Pennsylvania who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
President Joe Biden began his presidency with fewer vacancies to fill than his predecessor. He pledged to nominate people with diverse backgrounds and professional experience; further he pledged to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States.
John Rutledge was twice nominated by President George Washington to the Supreme Court of the United States, being nominated and confirmed in 1789 as an associate justice, and being unsuccessfully nominated in 1795 to serve as chief justice.
Harlan F. Stone was nominated and confirmed twice to the Supreme Court of the United States. First in 1925, when President Calvin Coolidge nominated him to serve as an associate justice and again in 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Justice Stone to be elevated to Chief Justice. Both times, the United States Senate confirmed the nominations.
Sherman Minton was nominated to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by U.S. President Harry S. Truman on September 14, 1949, after the death in office of Wiley Rutledge created a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Per the Constitution of the United States, Minton's nomination was subject to the advice and consent of the United States Senate, which holds the determinant power to confirm or reject nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nomination was met with a mixed reception and faced active opposition stemming both from the belief that Minton would be a liberal justice and from his history as a New Deal-supporting member of the United States Senate. There was an unsuccessful effort to compel Minton to testify before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Nevertheless, the nomination was approved by a 48–16 vote of the United States Senate on October 4, 1949.
Since the creation of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1816, many, but not all, nominations for the Supreme Court of the United States have been first referred to a committee for review prior to facing a confirmation vote before the full United States Senate. Some nominations have been withdrawn, lapsed, or been postponed without being referred to the Judiciary Committee, while some others up until 1941 had proceeded to full Senate confirmation votes without first being reviewed by the Judiciary Committee. However, ever since 1941, all nominations have been referred to the Judiciary Committee.