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Jackson in 2022.[4] Of the 37 that were unsuccessful, 11 nominees were rejected in Senate roll-call votes, 12 were withdrawn by the president, and 14 lapsed at the end of a session of Congress.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, as such persons were never officially nominated to the Court.
| Nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States since 1789[6] [7] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominee | Nominated by | Succession | Nomination | |||||||
| Name | President | Party | Justice | Senate Majority party[8] | Date submitted | Outcome (vote) and date | No. of Days | |||
| None | Sep. 24, 1789 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | |||||||
| None | Sep. 24, 1789 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | |||||||
| None | Sep. 24, 1789 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | |||||||
| None | Sep. 24, 1789 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | |||||||
| None | Sep. 24, 1789 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | |||||||
| None | Sep. 24, 1789 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Sep. 26, 1789 | |||||||
| None | Feb. 8, 1790 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Feb. 10, 1790 | |||||||
| None | Oct. 31, 1791 | bgcolor=white | confirmed Nov. 7, 1791 | |||||||
| None | Feb. 27, 1793 | withdrawn Feb. 28, 1793 | ||||||||
| None | Mar. 4, 1793 | confirmed Mar. 4, 1793 | ||||||||
| None | Dec. 10, 1795 | rejected (10–14) Dec. 15, 1795[9] | ||||||||
| None | Jan. 26, 1796 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed Jan. 27, 1796 | |||||||
| None | Jan. 26, 1796 | confirmed Jan. 27, 1796 | ||||||||
| None | Mar. 3, 1796 | confirmed (21–1) Mar. 4, 1796[10] | ||||||||
| Dec. 19, 1798 | confirmed Dec. 20, 1798 | |||||||||
| Dec. 4, 1799 | confirmed Dec. 10, 1799 | |||||||||
| Dec. 18, 1800 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed Dec. 19, 1800 | ||||||||
| Jan. 20, 1801 | confirmed Jan. 27, 1801 | |||||||||
| Mar. 22, 1804 | confirmed Mar. 24, 1804 | |||||||||
| Dec. 13, 1806 | confirmed Dec. 17, 1806 | |||||||||
| Feb. 28, 1807 | confirmed Mar. 2, 1807 | |||||||||
| Jan. 2, 1811 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed Jan. 3, 1811 | ||||||||
| Feb. 4, 1811 | rejected (9–24) Feb. 13, 1811[11] | |||||||||
| Feb. 21, 1811 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed Feb. 22, 1811 | ||||||||
| Nov. 15, 1811 | confirmed Nov. 18, 1811 | |||||||||
| Nov. 15, 1811 | confirmed Nov. 18, 1811 | |||||||||
| Dec. 5, 1823 | confirmed Dec. 9, 1823 | |||||||||
| Apr. 11, 1826 | confirmed (27–5) May 9, 1826[12] | |||||||||
| Dec. 17, 1828 | postponed (23–17) February 12, 1829[13] | |||||||||
| Mar. 6, 1829 | confirmed Mar. 7, 1829 | |||||||||
| Jan. 4, 1830 | confirmed (41–2) Jan. 6, 1830[14] | |||||||||
| Jan. 6, 1835 | confirmed Jan. 9, 1835 | |||||||||
| Jan. 15, 1835 | postponed (23–22) March 3, 1835[15] | |||||||||
| Dec. 28, 1835 | confirmed (29–15) Mar. 15, 1836[16] | |||||||||
| Dec. 28, 1835 | confirmed (30–11) Mar. 15, 1836[17] | |||||||||
| Mar. 3, 1837 | confirmed (28–15) Mar. 8, 1837[18] | |||||||||
| Mar. 3, 1837 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed (23–18) Mar. 8, 1837[19] | ||||||||
| Sep. 18, 1837 | confirmed Sep. 25, 1837 | |||||||||
| Feb. 26, 1841 | confirmed (25–5) Mar. 2, 1841[20] | |||||||||
| None | Jan. 8, 1844 | rejected (21–26) Jan. 31, 1844[21] | ||||||||
| None | Mar. 13, 1844 | withdrawn June 17, 1844 | ||||||||
| None | June 5, 1844 | postponed (29–18) Jun. 15, 1844[22] | ||||||||
| None | June 17, 1844 | withdrawn June 17, 1844 | ||||||||
| None | June 17, 1844 | lapsed | ||||||||
| None | Dec. 4, 1844 | withdrawn Feb. 6, 1845 | ||||||||
| None | Dec. 4, 1844 | withdrawn Feb. 8, 1845 | ||||||||
| None | Feb. 4, 1845 | confirmed Feb. 14, 1845 | ||||||||
| None | Feb. 7, 1845 | lapsed | ||||||||
| Dec. 23, 1845 | rejected (20–29) Jan. 22, 1846[23] | |||||||||
| Dec. 23, 1845 | confirmed Jan. 3, 1846 | |||||||||
| Aug. 3, 1846 | confirmed Aug. 4, 1846 | |||||||||
| Dec. 11, 1851 | confirmed Dec. 23, 1851 | |||||||||
| Aug. 16, 1852 | Tabled Aug. 31, 1852 | |||||||||
| Jan. 3, 1853 | Postponed Feb. 11, 1853[24] | |||||||||
| Feb. 14, 1853 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Mar. 21, 1853 | confirmed Mar. 22, 1853 | |||||||||
| Dec. 9, 1857 | confirmed (26–23) Jan. 12, 1858[25] | |||||||||
| Feb. 5, 1861 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Jan. 21, 1862 | confirmed (38–1) Jan. 24, 1862[26] | |||||||||
| July 16, 1862 | confirmed July 16, 1862 | |||||||||
| Dec. 1, 1862 | confirmed Dec. 8, 1862 | |||||||||
| Mar. 6, 1863 | confirmed Mar. 10, 1863 | |||||||||
| Dec. 6, 1864 | confirmed Dec. 6, 1864 | |||||||||
| Apr. 16, 1866 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Dec. 14, 1869 | rejected (24–33) Feb. 3, 1870[27] | |||||||||
| Dec. 20, 1869 | data-sort-value="Died" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed (46–11) Dec. 20, 1869[28] | ||||||||
| Feb. 7, 1870 | confirmed Feb. 18, 1870 | |||||||||
| Feb. 7, 1870 | confirmed (46–9) Mar. 21, 1870[29] | |||||||||
| Dec. 3, 1872 | confirmed Dec. 11, 1872 | |||||||||
| Dec. 1, 1873 | withdrawn Jan. 8, 1874 | |||||||||
| Jan. 9, 1874 | withdrawn Jan. 13, 1874 | |||||||||
| Jan. 19, 1874 | confirmed (63–0) Jan. 21, 1874[30] | |||||||||
| Oct. 16, 1877 | confirmed Nov. 29, 1877 | |||||||||
| Dec. 15, 1880 | confirmed (39–8) Dec. 21, 1880[31] | |||||||||
| Jan. 26, 1881 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Mar. 14, 1881 | confirmed (24–23) May 12, 1881[32] | |||||||||
| Split | Dec. 19, 1881 | confirmed (51–5) Dec. 20, 1881[33] | ||||||||
| Split | Feb. 24, 1882 | data-sort-value="Declined" bgcolor="#f8f8f1" | confirmed (39–12) Mar. 2, 1882[34] | |||||||
| Split | Mar. 13, 1882 | confirmed Mar. 22, 1882 | ||||||||
| Dec. 6, 1887 | confirmed (32–28) Jan. 16, 1888[35] | |||||||||
| Apr. 30, 1888 | confirmed (41–20) July 20, 1888[36] | |||||||||
| Dec. 4, 1889 | confirmed (53–11) Dec. 18, 1889[37] | |||||||||
| Dec. 23, 1890 | confirmed Dec. 29, 1890 | |||||||||
| July 19, 1892 | confirmed July 26, 1892 | |||||||||
| Feb. 2, 1893 | confirmed Feb. 18, 1893 | |||||||||
| Sep. 19, 1893 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Dec. 5, 1893 | rejected (24–30) Jan. 15, 1894[38] | |||||||||
| Jan. 22, 1894 | rejected (32–41) Feb. 16, 1894[39] | |||||||||
| Feb. 19, 1894 | confirmed Feb. 19, 1894 | |||||||||
| Dec. 3, 1895 | confirmed Dec. 9, 1895 | |||||||||
| Dec. 16, 1897 | confirmed Jan. 21, 1898 | |||||||||
| Dec. 2, 1902 | confirmed Dec. 4, 1902 | |||||||||
| Feb. 19, 1903 | confirmed Feb. 23, 1903 | |||||||||
| Dec. 3, 1906 | confirmed Dec. 12, 1906 | |||||||||
| Republican | Dec. 13, 1909 | confirmed Dec. 20, 1909 | ||||||||
| Apr. 25, 1910 | confirmed May 2, 1910 | |||||||||
| Dec. 12, 1910 | confirmed Dec. 12, 1910 | |||||||||
| Dec. 12, 1910 | confirmed Dec. 15, 1910 | |||||||||
| Dec. 12, 1910 | confirmed Dec. 15, 1910 | |||||||||
| Feb. 19, 1912 | confirmed (50–26) Mar. 13, 1912[40] | |||||||||
| Aug. 19, 1914 | confirmed (44–6) Aug. 29, 1914 | |||||||||
| Jan. 28, 1916 | confirmed (47–22) June 1, 1916[41] | |||||||||
| July 14, 1916 | confirmed July 24, 1916 | |||||||||
| June 30, 1921 | confirmed June 30, 1921 | |||||||||
| Sep. 5, 1922 | confirmed Sep. 5, 1922 | |||||||||
| Nov. 21, 1922 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Dec. 5, 1922 | confirmed (61–8) Dec. 21, 1922[42] | |||||||||
| Jan. 24, 1923 | confirmed Jan. 29, 1923 | |||||||||
| Jan. 5, 1925 | confirmed (71–6) Feb. 5, 1925[43] | |||||||||
| Feb. 3, 1930 | confirmed (52–26) Feb. 13, 1930 May 7, 1930[44] | |||||||||
| Mar. 21, 1930 | rejected (39–41) May 7, 1930[45] | |||||||||
| May 9, 1930 | confirmed May 20, 1930 | |||||||||
| Feb. 15, 1932 | confirmed Feb. 24, 1932 | |||||||||
| Aug. 12, 1937 | confirmed (63–16) Aug. 17, 1937[46] | |||||||||
| Jan. 15, 1938 | confirmed Jan. 25, 1938 | |||||||||
| Jan. 5, 1939 | confirmed Jan. 17, 1939 | |||||||||
| Mar. 20, 1939 | confirmed (62–4) Apr. 4, 1939[47] | |||||||||
| Jan. 4, 1940 | confirmed Jan. 16, 1940 | |||||||||
| June 12, 1941 | confirmed June 27, 1941 | |||||||||
| June 12, 1941 | confirmed June 12, 1941 | |||||||||
| June 12, 1941 | confirmed July 7, 1941 | |||||||||
| Jan. 11, 1943 | confirmed Feb. 8, 1943 | |||||||||
| Sep. 19, 1945 | confirmed Sep. 19, 1945 | |||||||||
| June 6, 1946 | confirmed June 20, 1946 | |||||||||
| Aug. 2, 1949 | confirmed (73–8) Aug. 18, 1949[48] | |||||||||
| Sep. 15, 1949 | confirmed (48–16) Oct. 4, 1949[49] | |||||||||
| Jan. 11, 1954 | confirmed Mar. 1, 1954 | |||||||||
| Nov. 9, 1954 | lapsed | |||||||||
| Jan. 10, 1955 | confirmed (71–11) Mar. 16, 1955[50] | |||||||||
| nowrap | Jan. 14, 1957 | confirmed Mar. 19, 1957 | ||||||||
| Mar. 2, 1957 | confirmed Mar. 19, 1957 | |||||||||
| Jan. 17, 1959 | confirmed (70–17) May 5, 1959[51] | |||||||||
| Apr. 3, 1962 | confirmed Apr. 11, 1962 | |||||||||
| Aug. 31, 1962 | confirmed Sep. 25, 1962 | |||||||||
| July 28, 1965 | confirmed Aug. 11, 1965 | |||||||||
| June 13, 1967 | confirmed (69–11) Aug. 30, 1967[52] | |||||||||
| June 26, 1968 | withdrawn Oct. 2, 1968 | |||||||||
| June 26, 1968 | withdrawn Oct. 2, 1968 | |||||||||
| May 23, 1969 | confirmed (74–3) June 9, 1969[53] | |||||||||
| Aug. 21, 1969 | rejected (45–55) Nov. 21, 1969[54] | |||||||||
| Jan. 19, 1970 | rejected (45–51) Apr. 8, 1970[55] | |||||||||
| Apr. 15, 1970 | confirmed (94–0) May 12, 1970[56] | |||||||||
| Oct. 22, 1971 | confirmed (89–1) Dec. 6, 1971[57] | |||||||||
| Oct. 22, 1971 | confirmed (68–26) Dec. 10, 1971[58] | |||||||||
| Nov. 28, 1975 | confirmed (98–0) Dec. 17, 1975 | |||||||||
| Aug. 19, 1981 | confirmed (99–0) Sep. 21, 1981[59] | |||||||||
| June 20, 1986 | confirmed (65–33) Sep. 17, 1986[60] | |||||||||
| June 24, 1986 | confirmed (98–0) Sep. 17, 1986[61] | |||||||||
| July 1, 1987 | rejected (42–58) Oct. 23, 1987[62] | |||||||||
| Nov. 30, 1987 | confirmed (97–0) Feb. 3, 1988[63] | |||||||||
| July 25, 1990 | confirmed (90–9) Oct. 2, 1990[64] | |||||||||
| July 8, 1991 | confirmed (52–48) Oct. 15, 1991[65] | |||||||||
| June 22, 1993 | confirmed (96–3) Aug. 3, 1993[66] | |||||||||
| May 17, 1994 | confirmed (87–9) July 29, 1994[67] | |||||||||
| July 29, 2005 | withdrawn Sep. 6, 2005 | |||||||||
| Sep. 6, 2005 | confirmed (78–22) Sep. 29, 2005[68] | |||||||||
| Oct. 7, 2005 | withdrawn Oct. 28, 2005 | |||||||||
| Nov. 10, 2005 | confirmed (58–42) Jan. 31, 2006[69] | |||||||||
| June 1, 2009 | confirmed (68–31) Aug. 6, 2009[70] | |||||||||
| May 10, 2010 | confirmed (63–37) Aug. 5, 2010[71] | |||||||||
| Mar. 16, 2016 | ||||||||||
| Feb. 1, 2017 | confirmed (54–45) Apr. 7, 2017[72] | |||||||||
| July 10, 2018 | confirmed (50–48) Oct. 6, 2018[73] | |||||||||
| Sep. 29, 2020 | confirmed (52–48) Oct. 26, 2020[74] | |||||||||
| Feb. 28, 2022 | confirmed (53–47) Apr. 7, 2022[75] | |||||||||
| Name | President | Party | Justice | Senate Majority party | Date submitted | Outcome (vote) and date | No. of Days | |||