Order Code RS20986
Updated April 4, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Senate Confirmation Process: An Overview
Lorraine H. Tong
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
The role of the Senate in the confirmation process is defined in the Constitution.
Article II, Section 2 provides that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint high government officials.” All positions
requiring confirmation are set by statute. Senate Rule XXXI regulates proceedings on
nominations in executive sessions (“executive” in this case refers to executive business,
not to a closed or secret session). Each Senate committee may adopt its own procedures
as long as they do not conflict with Senate rules. For more information on legislative
process, see [http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml ].
The Senate gives its advice and consent to presidential appointments to the Supreme
Court and to high-level positions in the Cabinet departments and independent agencies.
The Senate also confirms appointments of members of regulatory commissions,
ambassadors, federal judges, U.S. attorneys, and U.S. marshals. There are over 2,000 of
these appointments. Appointees named to be Cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court
justices receive the Senate’s closest scrutiny due to the significance of these positions.
About 99% of all presidential appointments are approved. The confirmation process for
individual nominations typically follows these steps:
Presidential Submission. The President submits a nomination in writing to the
Senate. The nomination is read on the floor and the executive clerk assigns it a number.
A nomination is not voted on by the full Senate on the same day the Senate receives it,
or on the day on which it is reported by a committee, except by unanimous consent.
Committee Referral and Consideration. The parliamentarian, acting on behalf
of the presiding officer, refers each nomination to the committee with jurisdiction over
the position or the agency in which the position exists. More than one committee may
have the opportunity to examine a nomination; some nominations are referred
sequentially, and a few are jointly referred to two or more committees. Confirmation
hearings, generally open to the public, are held to give closest scrutiny to the most senior
appointments, and also to controversial nominees, to afford committee members an
opportunity to question a nominee to determine his or her fitness for a post. Senators may
also use hearings as a forum to advance their own views on public policy, to determine
or challenge the administration’s position on policy issues, and to extract commitments
from a nominee. In addition to investigations already conducted by or at the behest of
the White House, each Senate committee may have its own questions or forms for the
nominee, and may conduct its own investigation. Often a nominee is introduced at a
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

CRS-2
hearing by a Senator or both Senators from his or her home state, and may be
accompanied by other Members of Congress. Supporters and opponents of a nominee are
occasionally permitted to testify.
Most committees have rules governing how soon after hearings the committee may
vote on a nomination. The committee has the option to report the nomination favorably,
unfavorably, or without recommendation, or to take no action at all. If the committee
votes to report the nomination, it is then filed with the legislative clerk, who notifies the
executive clerk. Committees usually do not submit written reports to accompany
nominations. The executive clerk assigns a calendar number to each reported nomination
(or list of nominees in the case of military commissions), and the nomination is placed on
the Executive Calendar. The calendar identifies the number of the presidential
nomination message, the name of the nominee, the office to which he or she is nominated,
and the name of the predecessor holding the office. Other details about the nomination,
such as committee action, are also provided. Although unusual, a committee may be
discharged by resolution from further consideration of a nomination. Such a resolution
is listed in the Executive Calendar.
Floor Consideration. The Senate meets in executive session to consider
nominations, but may not begin floor consideration of a nomination until it has been on
the Executive Calendar for at least one day, except by unanimous consent. Nominations
are subject to unlimited debate, subject to cloture being invoked. In some instances, one
or more Senators may place a “hold” on a nomination, thereby delaying or preventing it
from reaching the floor for further action. Under Senate Rule XXXI, the final question
on a nomination is, “Will the Senate advise and consent to this nomination?” The Senate
has three options: confirm, reject, or take no action on the nomination. Confirmation
requires a simple majority vote.
Although Senate Rule XXXI requires pending nominations be returned to the
President when the Senate recesses for more than 30 days or adjourns between sessions,
this requirement is often waived. Nominations pending at the end of a Congress are
returned to the President, and they must be resubmitted for the Senate to reconsider them.
White House Notification. Once the Senate has acted on a nomination, the
secretary of the Senate attests to a resolution of confirmation or rejection, which is
transmitted to the White House. All nominations submitted to the Senate as well as
action on them are printed in the Congressional Record and a number of other Senate
publications. The Senate Web site [http://www.senate.gov] also provides details on
nominations pending, confirmed, withdrawn, failed, and returned.
Routine Nominations. The Senate also confirms nonpolitical appointments to
and promotions in the military and other civilian positions (in the Foreign Service, Public
Health Service, and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration). These routine
nominations are usually “placed on the secretary’s desk.” The Senate typically considers
and approves these nominations by unanimous consent, frequently en bloc, without
committee action. Routine nominations in any given Congress number between 50,000
and 100,000.