He was confirmed in a 76–23 vote and received his judicial commission the next day. The majority of Republican senators voted to confirm Garland, including Senators John McCain, Orrin Hatch, Susan Collins, and Jim Inhofe.
On March 16, 2016, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the vacant seat on the Court.
United States senators have been elected directly by voters since 1913. Prior to that time, state legislatures chose the state's senators.
80 years (February 20, 1942)Mitch McConnell / Age
Chicago, ILMerrick Garland / Place of birth
Beginning with the 1914 general election, all U.S. senators have been chosen by direct popular election. The Seventeenth Amendment also provided for the appointment of senators to fill vacancies. There have been many landmark contests, such as the election of Hiram Revels, the first African American senator, in 1870.
The majority leader serves as the chief representative of their party in the Senate, and is considered the most powerful member of the Senate.
List of senatorsStateSenatorTerm upCaliforniaDianne Feinstein2024Alex Padilla2022ColoradoMichael Bennet2022John Hickenlooper202618 more rows