how many votes are needed for the senate to confirm a attorney general

by Lionel Roberts III Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 6 min read

Does the Senate have the power to confirm presidential nominations?

Mar 10, 2021 · The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Merrick Garland to be President Biden’s attorney general, a U-turn from a 2016 stalemate that kept him stuck in Senate limbo. Senators voted 70-30 on Garland ...

How many senators does it take to confirm a Supreme Court justice?

Feb 14, 2019 · Vote count 51 votes were necessary to confirm William Barr. 1 did not vote Majority rule The 54 senators voting “yes”, thereby confirming Barr as attorney general, represent 48 percent of voting...

What happens if one senator does not agree on a nomination?

Sep 25, 2014 · He was approved by a 75-21 vote in the Senate, and his nomination and confirmation process lasted for about two months. One rumored replacement is Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who was linked...

When does an appointee have to be approved by the Senate?

How does the attorney general get confirmed?

Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, then appointed with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.

How does the Senate approve presidential appointments?

The Senate maintains several powers to itself: It ratifies treaties by a two-thirds supermajority vote and confirms the appointments of the President by a majority vote. The consent of the House of Representatives is also necessary for the ratification of trade agreements and the confirmation of the Vice President.

Does Senate have to confirm Cabinet members?

The vast majority are routinely confirmed, while a small but sometimes highly visible number of nominees fail to receive action or are rejected by the Senate. In its history, the Senate has confirmed 126 Supreme Court nominations and well over 500 Cabinet nominations.

What positions are confirmed by the Senate?

Full-Time Positions

Office of the Secretary. Secretary. Deputy Secretary. ...
Department of the Air Force. Secretary. Under Secretary. ...
Department of the Army. Secretary. Under Secretary. ...
Department of the Navy. Secretary. Under Secretary. ...
Joint Chiefs of Staff. Chairman (two-year term of office) Vice Chairman (two-year term of office)

How many presidential appointments confirmed Senate?

1,200

Introduction. While most of the federal government is composed of career civil servants, there are roughly 4,000 positions filled by political appointees selected by the president. Of those, about 1,200 require Senate confirmation.Aug 9, 2021

Do all presidential appointments require Senate approval?

The president may want you, but unless you also win the approval of the U.S. Senate, it's back to the shoe store on Monday for you. Across the federal government, nearly 1,200 executive-level jobs may be filled only by individuals appointed by the president and approved by a simple majority vote of the Senate.Jun 3, 2021

How many votes does a Supreme Court justice need to confirm?

A simple majority vote is needed for confirmation (there are currently 100 U.S. senators). Typically, the nomination and confirmation process for a justice takes several months, but it can be, and on occasion has been, completed more quickly.

Does Congress approve Cabinet members?

The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation.

What branch confirms presidential appointments?

The legislative branch drafts proposed laws, confirms or rejects presidential nominations for heads of federal agencies, federal judges, and the Supreme Court, and has the authority to declare war.Jan 31, 2022

Do ambassadors need Senate approval?

Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their appointment must be confirmed by the United States Senate; while an ambassador may be appointed during a recess, they can serve only until the end of the next session of Congress, unless subsequently confirmed.

What positions do not need Senate confirmation?

PA positions (approximately 400 positions): Presidential appointments that do not require Senate confirmation. These are senior-level positions, including jobs within the Executive Office of the President such as senior White House aides and advisors.

Does the Senate confirm presidential appointments?

Historically, the Senate has confirmed most presidential nominations, but “in rare instances” a vote to confirm a major appointment has failed on the Senate floor. Opposition from one or more senators may prevent a floor vote because the Senate cannot schedule the vote absent unanimous consent.

Majority rule

The 54 senators voting “yes”, thereby confirming Barr as attorney general, represent 48 percent of voting age Americans, or 107 million people.

Key votes

Democrats Joe Manchin, Doug Jones and Kyrsten Sinema voted to confirm Barr and one Republican, Rand Paul, voted against Barr.

How many cabinet nominations did the Senate reject?

At this writing, the Senate has rejected only nine of a president’s Cabinet nominations. Four were made by embattled Whig-turned-Independent John Tyler in 1843 and 1844, including choices for secretary of war and treasury secretary.

Who can recommend candidates for executive branch positions?

Members of Congress and other interested parties may recommend candidates for executive branch positions. However, a president or president-elect isn’t bound by such recommendations, according to the Congressional Research Service, whose recent reports on the confirmation process provide the basis for this article.

What is the purpose of the Congressional Research Service?

The Congressional Research Service, which studies and analyzes legislative matters for members of the Senate and House, breaks it down this way: First, the White House selects a prospective appointee and sends a formal nomination to the Senate. Second, the Senate determines whether to confirm the nomination.

Who was the Supreme Court nominee in 2016?

Since 1845, the Senate has taken no action on only five Supreme Court nominees, the latest being Merrick Garland in 2016. Obama, a liberal Democrat, selected Garland to fill a vacancy created by the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative. Republican leadership decided to adhere to a Senate tradition ...

What is the Office of Government Ethics?

The Office of Government Ethics is available to guide a candidate through the paperwork. The FBI typically does a background check and submits a report. The Office of Government Ethics, along with an ethics official from the relevant agency, reviews the financial disclosures.

What is recess appointment?

Recess Appointments. In some circumstances not normally associated with a new president’s initial Cabinet appointments, the president may fill vacancies in executive branch positions temporarily. One way is through a recess appointment.

Can the President fill executive branch positions temporarily?

In some circumstances not normally associated with a new president’s initial Cabinet appointments, the president may fill vacancies in executive branch positions temporarily. One way is through a recess appointment.

How long does a Senate nomination have to be on the executive calendar?

The nomination must be on the Executive Calendar for more than one day before it can make it to the Senate floor for consideration. Unanimous consent of the time and date for debate must be agreed upon by all senators. If even one senator does not agree, a hold is placed on the nomination.

What is PAS in the Senate?

All presidential appointments requiring Senate confirmation (PAS) must follow the appointment confirmation process before taking office. Although the number of PAS positions varies by administration, it typically includes all executive department secretaries, undersecretaries, and inspectors general. Some roles in independent agencies and ...

Who submits a nomination to the Senate?

What is the process of making an appointment to an advice and consent position?

As part of the process of making an appointment to an advice and consent position, the President submits a nomination to the Senate. Most nominations are referred to the appropriate Senate committee or committees on the day they are received. Such referrals are guided by Senate Rule XXV, which establishes the subject matter under the purview of each committee and directs that "all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating primarily to [those] subjects" be referred to that committee. Precedents set by prior referrals, standing orders, and unanimous consent (UC) agreements adopted by the Senate pertaining to the referral of nominations may also influence the referral process.

How long does the Senate have to be in recess?

Noel Canning ruled that the Senate must be in recess for at least three consecutive days before the president can make recess appointments.

What is Senate Resolution 116?

Hoping to avoid those political pitfalls and delays in the presidential nominee approval process, the Senate, on June 29, 2011, adopted Senate Resolution 116, which established a special expedited procedure governing Senate consideration of certain lower-level presidential nominations. Under the resolution, over 40 specific presidential nominations—mostly assistant department secretaries and members of various boards and commissions—bypass the Senate subcommittee approval process. Instead, the nominations are sent to the chairpersons of the appropriate Senate committees under the heading, “Privileged Nominations – Information Requested.” Once the committees’ staffs have verified that the “appropriate biographical and financial questionnaires have been received” from the nominee, the nominations are considered by the full Senate.

Who is Robert Longley?

Presidential Appointments Requiring Senate Approval. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. What a compliment! The President of the United States has named you to fill a top-level government position, maybe even a Cabinet-level job.

What is the Plum Book?

The Plum Book, officially the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, lists all presidentially appointed jobs within the federal government. Published every four years after a presidential election, the Plum Book lists the over 9,000 potential civil service leadership and support positions in the Legislative and Executive branches of the federal government that may be subject to presidential appointment. In practice, the Plum Book is best used as a snapshot of presidentially appointed positions within the federal government at the time of publishing.