Supreme Court Appointment Process the Senate Likely To Use

 Supreme Court Appointment Process the Senate Is Likely to Use

Debate and Confirmation Vote

Consideration of a nomination is scheduled by the majority leader, who typically consults with the minority leader and all interested Senators. In previous Congresses, the typical practice in calling up a Supreme Court nomination was for the majority leader to consult with the minority leader and interested Senators and to ask for unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and consider the nomination. The leader asked for unanimous consent to proceed to executive session to consider the nomination immediately or at some specified time in the future

When unanimous consent to call up a nomination has not been secured, the majority leader may make a motion that the Senate proceed to consider the nomination. As already explained, such a motion is made while the Senate is in legislative session. The motion is not debatable. Since 1980, the Senate has explicitly established the precedent that a nondebatable motion may be made to go into executive session to take up a specified nomination. One congressional scholar observed that the precedent limits a potential filibuster to the nomination itself.

Supporters of a Court nomination have available to them a procedure for placing time limits on consideration of a matter—the motion to invoke cloture. When the Senate agrees to a cloture motion, further consideration of the matter being debated is limited to 30 hours. The majority required for cloture on nominations, including Supreme Court nominations is a majority of Senators voting, a quorum being present. By invoking cloture, the Senate ensures that a nomination may ultimately come to a vote and be decided by a voting majority.

The Senate reinterpreted its cloture rule to allow a simple majority of Senators voting to invoke cloture on a Supreme Court nomination on April 6, 2017