how many votes to approve an attorney general

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

Feb 04, 2021 · The Senate confirmed him on March 10, 2021, by a vote of 70-30. The Biden Transition said in a press release, "A consensus-building voice, Judge Garland has worked under Democratic and Republican administrations.

Does the Senate have to approve judicial nominations?

Feb 14, 2019 · The Senate confirmed William Barr to be the next attorney general of the United States in an 54-45 vote.

How many cabinet positions require Senate approval?

A candidate for confirmation of the office of US Attorney General needs 51 votes for confirmation. If the vote goes 50/50, Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote. Garland is widely regarded as a positive choice for the post, so there may be a bipartisan acceptance and it’s possible the vote will not be close.

How many presidential nominations will bypass the Senate Subcommittee approval process?

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. Senate votes to confirm Garland as ...

How many Senators are required to confirm a presidential appointment?

[The president] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he 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 ...Sep 17, 2021

How many votes are needed to confirm Cabinet members?

The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet does not have any collective executive powers or functions of its own, and no votes need to be taken.

Is the attorney general approved by the Senate?

The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. ... 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.

What is a confirmation vote?

Confirmation by the Senate allows the President to formally appoint the candidate to the court. ... Senate cloture rules historically required a two-thirds affirmative vote to advance nominations to a vote; this was changed to a three-fifths supermajority in 1975.

How many senators must approve Cabinet members?

[The president] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he 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 ...

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.

How long does the US attorney general serve?

four-yearUnder the state Constitution, the Attorney General is elected to a four-year term in the same statewide election as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Controller, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Insurance Commissioner.

Can the president fire the Attorney General?

The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office. In the event of a vacancy, the United States Attorney General is authorized to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney.

How many votes does Merrick Garland need?

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15–7 to advance Garland's nomination to the Senate floor, and on March 10, the Senate confirmed Garland's nomination by a vote of 70–30.

How many positions are confirmed in the Senate?

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

What did Amy Coney Barrett do?

Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She is the fifth woman to serve on the court. She was nominated by President Donald Trump and has served since October 27, 2020.

What is a Senate confirmation?

Confirmation. Under Senate procedures, a nominee requires a simple majority support of senators present and voting to proceed to the nomination. After the Senate has voted, the clerk of the Senate notifies the White House to prepare your presidential commission.

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.

Who is the special counsel for Hunter Biden?

The department is also carrying out a tax investigation into Hunter Biden, the president's son, that is being closely watched by Republicans, who also pressed Garland to let special counsel John Durham. John Durham Garland stresses independence in first speech at DOJ Senate votes to confirm Garland as attorney general Special counsel investigating ...

Who investigated the Oklahoma City bombing?

It’s familiar ground for Garland , who, as a U.S. attorney, investigated and led prosecutions tied to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. “I don't think that this is necessarily a one-off,” Garland said, noting the DOJ’s work prosecuting the Ku Klux Klan and his experience litigating domestic terrorism. ADVERTISEMENT.

What is Article 2 Section 2?

Article II, Section 2 empowers the president to nominate and—“by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate”—to appoint principal officers such as department heads as well as subordinate ones such as deputies. The process of the president’s nomination of Cabinet secretaries, and the Senate’s confirmation of them, ...

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 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 ...

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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.