Yes votes to confirm Supreme Court justices
Republicans
Democrats
Independents
50 votes
for confirmation
60 votes to
break a filibuster
Scalia
98
Kennedy
97
Thomas
52
Ginsburg
96
Breyer
87
Roberts
78
Alito
58
Sotomayor
68
Kagan
63
Gorsuch
54
Republicans
Democrats
Independents
50 votes
for confirmation
60 votes to
break a filibuster
Scalia
98
Kennedy
97
Thomas
52
Ginsburg
96
Breyer
87
Roberts
78
Alito
58
Sotomayor
68
Kagan
63
Gorsuch
54
The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch Friday after a contentious year-long battle to replace Antonin Scalia. President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland for the vacancy, but Senate Republicans refused to schedule a hearing and his nomination languished before the Senate for a record 293 days. President Trump nominated Gorsuch on Jan. 31.
Senate Democrats tried to block Gorsuch’s nomination with a single-party filibuster, but Republicans changed the rule and upended Senate tradition to to require a simple 50-vote majority. This will make future Supreme Court nominees easier to confirm. Here’s how the vote happened and how it compares to votes for the eight sitting justices and Scalia:
Neil Gorsuch
Nominated by Donald Trump
Confirmed on April 7, 2017, after 66 days of consideration
Short of 60 debate-ending votes, Gorsuch was temporarily denied a confirmation vote.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
55
senators voted yes
51 Republicans
4 D
45
voted no
42 Democrats
2 Independents
Republicans voted to end the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, so the minority party will no longer be able to block a vote on their confirmation.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
48
senators voted yes
46 Democrats
2 Independents
52
voted no
52 Republicans
Now, only 50 votes are needed to force a confirmation vote.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
55
senators voted yes
52 Republicans
45
voted no
43 Democrats
2 Independents
His confirmation was finalized the next day.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
54
senators voted yes
51 Republicans
45
voted no
43 Democrats
2 Independents
1
did not vote
From the Post archives: The U.S. Senate confirmed Neil M. Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, capping more than a year of bitter partisan bickering over the ideological balance of the nation’s highest court.
Antonin Scalia
Nominated by Ronald Reagan
Confirmed on Sept. 17, 1986, after 85 days of consideration
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
98
senators voted yes
51 Republicans
47 Democrats
2
did not vote
From the Post archives: The Senate last night voted 65 to 33 to confirm William H. Rehnquist as the 16th chief justice of the United States, ending a three-month campaign by some Democrats to stop the nomination. In a 98-to-0 vote, the Senate also confirmed Antonin Scalia, a federal appeals court judge here, as associate justice on the Supreme Court.
Anthony M. Kennedy
Nominated by Ronald Reagan
Confirmed on Feb. 3, 1988, after 65 days of consideration
Reagan first nominated U.S. Appeals Court Judge Robert Bork for this seat, but the Senate rejected him with a 42-58 vote after a full hearing and debate.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
97
senators voted yes
47 Republicans
50 Democrats
3
did not vote
From the Post archives: The Senate voted 97 to 0 yesterday to confirm appeals court Judge Anthony M. Kennedy to the Supreme Court, formally ending a bitter struggle over the Reagan administration's attempt to change the direction of the high court.
Clarence Thomas
Nominated by George H.W. Bush
Confirmed on Oct. 15, 1991, after 99 days of consideration
Despite contentious nomination hearings wherein he faced questions about former colleague Anita Hill’s claims that he sexually harassed her, Thomas did not face a filibuster.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
52
senators voted yes
41 Republicans
11 Democrats
48
voted no
46 Democrats
From the Post archives: The Senate yesterday voted 52 to 48 to confirm Clarence Thomas as the 106th justice of the Supreme Court in a tense but low-key conclusion to its emotionally charged probe of sexual harassment charges against him.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Nominated by Bill Clinton
Confirmed on Aug. 3, 1993, after 50 days of consideration
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
96
senators voted yes
41 Republicans
55 Democrats
3
voted no
3 R
1
did not vote
From the Post archives: The Senate approved Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the 107th justice, and second woman, on the Supreme Court yesterday, completing one of the most harmonious court confirmations in recent history.
Stephen G. Breyer
Nominated by Bill Clinton
Confirmed on July 29, 1994, after 73 days of consideration
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
87
senators voted yes
33 Republicans
54 Democrats
9
voted no
9 R
4
did not vote
From the Post archives: The Senate yesterday overwhelmingly approved Stephen G. Breyer as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, giving President Clinton his second easy confirmation of a judicial centrist to the high court.
John G. Roberts Jr.
Nominated by George W. Bush
Confirmed on Sept. 29, 2005, after 62 days of consideration
Roberts was first nominated to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and then to succeed Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
78
senators voted yes
55 Republicans
22 Democrats
1 Independent
22
voted no
22 Democrats
From the Post archives: John Glover Roberts Jr. was sworn in yesterday as the 17th chief justice of the United States, enabling President Bush to put his stamp on the Supreme Court for decades to come, even as he prepares to name a second nominee to the nine-member court.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Nominated by George W. Bush
Confirmed on Jan. 31, 2006, after 82 days of consideration
Alito is the most recent Supreme Court justice who faced the possibility of a filibuster. He was Bush’s third nominee to replace O’Connor after Roberts was bumped up to the chief justice position and Harriet Miers’s nomination was withdrawn. The members who voted against ending debate included current Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Richard J. Durbin, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Here’s the cloture vote to move along his nomination:
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
72
senators voted yes
53 Republicans
19 Democrats
25
voted no
24 Democrats
1 Independent
3
did not vote
The next day, Alito was confirmed with a second vote:
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
58
senators voted yes
54 Republicans
4 D
42
voted no
40 Democrats
1 Independent
From the Post archives: Samuel A. Alito Jr. was sworn in as the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice yesterday, marking a major victory for conservatives in their decades-old drive to move the court rightward, and alarming liberals who fear that long-standing rights might be in jeopardy.
Sonia Sotomayor
Nominated by Barack Obama
Confirmed on Aug. 6, 2009, after 66 days of consideration
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
68
senators voted yes
9 R
57 Democrats
2 Independents
31
voted no
31 Republicans
1
did not vote
From the Post archives: The Senate, in a vote laden with history and partisanship, confirmed Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday as the 111th justice and the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Elena Kagan
Nominated by Barack Obama
Confirmed on Aug. 5, 2010, after 87 days of consideration
50 votes for confirmation
60 votes to break a filibuster
63
senators voted yes
5 R
56 Democrats
2 Independents
37
voted no
36 Republicans
From the Post archives: The Senate confirmed U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan on Thursday as the 112th justice to the Supreme Court, making her the fourth woman to sit on the court.
More stories
The path ahead for Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
Here’s how the nominee for Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat could fit in with the justices on the bench.
Trump’s judicial influence could go far beyond putting Gorsuch on the Supreme Court
President Trump has more than 100 judicial appointments to make to federal courts across the country.
How Gorsuch’s judicial experience compares with his Supreme Court predecessors
To show how nominee Neil Gorsuch’s experience measures up, The Washington Post compared how often the judges published precedent-setting opinions on topics at the appeals level with how frequently cases on the same topics are heard at the highest court.
