President Biden announced he will nominate federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s seat on the Supreme Court. Breyer, 83, has served on the court for nearly three decades and plans to retire after the current term concludes.
How a Supreme Court nominee becomes a justice
A potential justice nominated by the president must win confirmation in the Senate
President
NOMINATION
The president chooses a candidate who is well-qualified as well as someone who generally serves his political interests.
Senate Judiciary
Committee
COMMITTEE BREAKDOWN
11
R
D
11
VETTING
The committee checks the nominee’s credentials and background, including finances and past legal decisions.
FIRST HEARING
The committee questions the nominee’s qualifications. The nominee is given a chance to respond.
COMMITTEE VOTE
If a majority of the committee opposes the nominee, tradition calls for the panel to send the nomination to the full Senate recommending that it be rejected.
Full Senate
50*
50
*Includes two independents who
caucus with the Democrats. Democrats have the majority with Vice President Harris as tiebreaker.
DEBATE ON SENATE FLOOR
Led by the chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Senate debates the nomination.
Filibuster
Republicans voted in 2017 to end the 60-vote threshold to force a vote on Supreme Court nominees.
FINAL VOTE
Simple 51-vote
majority required.
NOMINATION
FAILS
NOMINATION
CONFIRMED
President
NOMINATION
The president chooses a candidate who is well-qualified as well as someone who generally serves his political interests.
Senate Judiciary
Committee
COMMITTEE BREAKDOWN
11
R
11
D
VETTING
The committee checks the nominee’s credentials and background, including finances and past legal decisions.
FIRST HEARING
The committee questions the nominee’s qualifications. The nominee is given a chance to respond.
COMMITTEE VOTE
If a majority of the committee opposes the nominee, tradition calls for the panel to send the nomination to the full Senate recommending that it be rejected.
Full Senate
50*
50
*Includes two independents who
caucus with the Democrats. Democrats have the majority with Vice President Harris as tiebreaker.
DEBATE ON SENATE FLOOR
Led by the chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Senate debates the nomination.
Filibuster
Republicans voted in 2017 to end the 60-vote threshold to force a vote on Supreme Court nominees.
FINAL VOTE
Simple 51-vote
majority required.
NOMINATION
FAILS
NOMINATION
CONFIRMED
President
NOMINATION
The president chooses a candidate who is well-qualified as well as someone who generally serves his political interests.
Senate Judiciary Committee
COMMITTEE BREAKDOWN
VETTING
The committee checks the nominee’s credentials and background, including finances and past legal decisions.
R
11
D
11
FIRST HEARING
The committee questions the nominee’s qualifications. The nominee is given a chance to respond.
BACK TO THE START
A nominee may withdraw from consideration at any time, as Harriet Miers did in 2005.
COMMITTEE VOTE
If a majority of the committee opposes the nominee, tradition calls for the panel to send the nomination to the full Senate with the recommendation that it be rejected.
Full Senate
DEBATE ON SENATE FLOOR
Led by the chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Senate debates the nomination.
50*
50
Filibuster
*Includes two independents who
caucus with the Democrats. Democrats have the majority with Vice President Harris as tiebreaker.
Republicans voted in 2017 to end the 60-vote threshold to force a vote on Supreme Court nominees.
FINAL VOTE
Simple 51-vote
majority required.
NOMINATION
CONFIRMED
NOMINATION
FAILS
Republicans rammed through a change in Senate rules in 2017 to ensure the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s first nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch, with a simple majority vote after blocking President Barack Obama from filling the vacancy for much of 2016. That change will probably smooth the path for confirmation, although the Senate remains evenly divided, with Vice President Harris casting the tiebreaking vote.
In fall 2020, despite the dying wishes of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republicans pushed through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett in a matter of weeks. Trump nominated her on Sept. 26, and she was confirmed Oct. 26, eight days before the election. Between 1975 and 2016, it took about 70 days on average to confirm a justice.
Jackson’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on March 21. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) set a goal of confirming Biden’s nominee before the Easter recess, which is scheduled to begin April 8. This would mean that the confirmation process would take 43 days or fewer.
Barrett was confirmed 8 days before the 2020 election
Time to confirm
sitting justices
Average days
to confirm
72
27
Barrett
88
Kavanaugh
65
Gorsuch
87
Kagan
66
Sotomayor
82
Alito
62
Roberts
73
Breyer
99
Thomas
Barrett was confirmed 8 days before the 2020 election
Time to confirm
sitting justices
Average days
to confirm
72
27
Barrett
88
Kavanaugh
65
Gorsuch
87
Kagan
66
Sotomayor
82
Alito
62
Roberts
73
Breyer
99
Thomas
Average days
to confirm
Barrett was confirmed 8 days before the 2020 election
Time to confirm
sitting justices
72
27
Amy Coney Barrett
88
Brett M. Kavanaugh
65
Neil M. Gorsuch
87
Elena Kagan
66
Sonia Sotomayor
82
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
62
John G. Roberts Jr.
73
Stephen G. Breyer
99
Clarence Thomas
“President Biden’s nominee will receive a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speed,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
Although the ideological balance of the court is unlikely to shift significantly, Biden has a chance to make good on his campaign promise to nominate the first Black female justice. The Senate can begin the confirmation process while Breyer is still on the bench, according to senior Senate aides.