The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States. Washington, D.C. 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.
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.
The United States Constitution provides that the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided ...
Typically, the whole process takes several months, but it can be, and on occasion has been, completed more quickly. Since the mid 1950s, the average time from nomination to final Senate vote has been about 55 days. Presidents generally select a nominee a few weeks after a vacancy occurs or a retirement is announced.
Cabinet Nominations. Article II, section 2 of the Constitution gives the Senate responsibility for considering and confirming the President's executive and judicial nominations.
The Constitution requires the president to submit nominations to the Senate for its advice and consent. Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, presidents have submitted 165 nominations for the Court, including those for chief justice. Of this total, 128 were confirmed (7 declined to serve).
Executive Summary. The federal workforce is composed of about 2 million civil servants who provide continuity across presidential administrations and another 4,000 political appointees who are selected by the president. About 1,200 of these political appointees require Senate approval.
The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties.
The Constitution gives to the Senate the sole power to approve, by a two-thirds vote, treaties negotiated by the executive branch.
Confirmation is the completion of the process of initiation into the family of Christ and is preceded by Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It is one of the 7 Sacraments of Catholicism. Confirmation involves being responsible for one's faith and actions and is a coming-of-age ceremony.
How are Supreme Court Justices selected? The President nominates someone for a vacancy on the Court and the Senate votes to confirm the nominee, which requires a simple majority.
Matchfirst step. president nominates someone.second step. background investigations.third step. senate judiciary committee holds hearings.fourth step. committee votes to recommend the nominees to entire senate.fifth step. entire senate debates the nomination.sixth step. senate votes to confirm nominee.seventh step.
The Constitution, in Article II, Section 2, says that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise ...
All Cabinet members in the United States must go through Senate confirmation and be approved by the Senate before they can be officially appointed to their position. More than 98 percent of Cabinet nominations are approved by the Senate.
Do cabinet nominees require approval? Yes, they must be approved by majority vote of the House and Senate.
Somewhere between 1,200 and 1,400 government positions require confirmation. While many confirmation hearings take place just before and after a president takes office, the Senate must hold confirmation hearings for replacement appointments throughout a president's term.
Contact Attorney General Merrick Garland (D) by his email address, mailing address, DC office phone number, and Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Instagram pages:
March 10, 2021 02:59 PM Roll call vote: Confirmation of the Garland nomination (Attorney General) 2:15pm the Senate began a 15 minute roll call vote on of Executive Calendar #27, Merrick Brian Garland, of Maryland, to be Attorney General.. Confirmed: 70-30.
Merrick Garland’s thuggishness and partisanship show him to be unfit for the Supreme Court and he is not ethical and committed to justice as Biden's attorney general. He should go.
Merrick Garland faces multiple crises to address and politically tough decisions to make as he belatedly takes the reins at the Justice Department as attorney general.
Four nominees withdrew (out of seven in history). 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.
shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.
In 2011, to ease the logjam of President Obama’s appointees awaiting confirmation, the Senate adopted a resolution allowing nominations for specific positions to bypass a committee and go to the full Senate for a vote. The committee still collects background, however. And if a single senator objects to the expedited process, the nomination goes to committee as usual.
3 nominees. In the past 100 years, the Senate has rejected three nominations on a recorded vote. Americans tend to think of their president as the most powerful person in the world, but the Constitution limits the power of all three branches of government—the president as well as the Congress and the federal courts.
Opposition from one or more senators may prevent a floor vote because the Senate cannot schedule the vote absent unanimous consent.
Because all this takes time, potential nominees for the highest positions usually get priority. In 2004, Congress amended the law governing presidential transitions to encourage a president-elect to put forward candidates for the national security team shortly after the election.
A candidate for a Cabinet or other top position fills out various forms, such as a financial disclosure report and a national security questionnaire. The Office of Government Ethics is available to guide a candidate through the paperwork.
Following a vote of cloture, the Senate conducts a simple majority vote on whether to confirm, reject, or take no action on the nomination.
A chosen nominee then must pass through a series of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, the Office of Government Ethics and an ethics official from the agency to which the position is assigned. The nominee must also fill out the Public Financial Disclosure Report and questionnaires related to his or her background check.
The following table outlines jurisdiction of the Senate committees in terms of the presidential appointment confirmation process. The left column indicates the Senate committee, and the right indicates the federal departments and administrations over which the committee has jurisdiction. For more information on each committee, follow the link in the left column.
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.
The process begins when the president provides a written nomination to the Senate, where it is read on the floor and assigned a number. This starts the Senate's procedure of " Advice and Consent " laid out in Article II of the U.S. Constitution for the appointment of high ranking officials by the president.
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 ...
Democrats Joe Manchin, Doug Jones and Kyrsten Sinema voted to confirm Barr and one Republican, Rand Paul, voted against Barr.
A previous version of this graphic incorrectly stated Senator Richard Burr (R- N.C.) voted to confirm William Barr. He did not vote.
Once committee hearings are closed, most committees have a set amount of time before a vote is taken on whether the nominee is reported to the Senate favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation. The nomination will then go to the Senate floor for consideration. Once the nomination is considered by the Senate, unlimited debate is allowed until a majority of the Senate votes to invoke cloture and close debate. Following a vote of cloture, the Senate conducts a simple majority vote on whether to confirm, reject, or take no action on the nomination.
The confirmation process includes several rounds of investigation and review, beginning with the submission of a personal financial disclosure report and a background check. The nominee is then evaluated in a committee hearing, which allows for a close examination of the nominee and his or her views on public policy.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held Garland's confirmation hearing for February 22-23, 2021. The Senate confirmed him on March 10 , 2021, by a vote of 70-30.