List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest ranking judicial body in the United States. Established by Article III of the Constitution, the Court was organized by the 1st United States Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789, which specified its original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the size of the Supreme Court at six – one chief justice and five associate justices.[1] During the 19th century, Congress changed the size of the Court on seven occasions, concluding with the Judiciary Act of 1869 which stipulates that the Court consists of the chief justice and eight associate justices.[2]

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power to the President of the United States to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the United States Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States are considered to be official when the Senate receives a signed nomination letter from the president naming the nominee, which is then entered in the Senate's record. Since 1789, there have been 163 formal nominations (of 144 persons) to the Supreme Court; through 2018, 126 have been confirmed.[3] Of the 37 that were unsuccessful, 11 nominees were rejected in Senate roll-call votes, 11 were withdrawn by the president, and 15 lapsed at the end of a session of Congress. Six of these unsuccessful nominees were subsequently nominated and confirmed to other seats on the Court.[4] Additionally, although confirmed, seven nominees either declined office or (in one instance) died before assuming office.[3]

George Washington holds the record for most Supreme Court nominations, with 14 nominations (12 of which were confirmed). Making the second-most nominations were Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Tyler, with nine each (all nine of Roosevelt's were confirmed, while only one of Tyler's was). Three presidents—William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Jimmy Carter—did not make any nominations, as there were no vacancies while they were in office.[4]

An important role in this process is played by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which conducts a comprehensive evaluation of a nominee's background and qualifications before the Senate considers the nomination. Once confirmed to a seat on the Court, justices have life tenure, and so they serve until they die in office, resign or retire, or are impeached and removed from office. Even so, as it requires a separate presidential appointment, an incumbent associate justice who is nominated to be chief justice must undergo the confirmation process again. On rare occasions, presidents have been able to make Supreme Court appointments without the Senate's consent, when the Senate is in recess. Such "Recess appointments", however, are temporary, expiring at the end of the Senate's next session. Presidents have made recess appointments on 12 occasions, most recently in 1958.[4]

Summary of table

The table below lists all persons nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court since 1789, in chronological order by date of nomination, along with the actions taken by the president and the Senate on those nominations. Specifically, the table lists the following for each Supreme Court nomination:

• name of each nominee, and their age at the time of nomination;
• name of the president who made the nomination, and their political party affiliation;
• name of the justice whose departure created the vacancy (the column sorts so as to show the person-to-person succession of judges since 1789);
• majority party in the Senate at the time of the nomination;
• date on which the president formally made the nomination, by signing a nomination message;
• outcome, the type and date of final action by the Senate, or of a nomination's withdrawal by the President;
• numbers of days that elapsed from the date a nomination was formally submitted until the date of final Senate action or of the nomination's withdrawal.

The following final results of the nomination process are tracked:

1. confirmed – nominations confirmed by the Senate (including those of persons who subsequently declined to serve, or who died before taking office);
2. withdrawn – nominations withdrawn by the president prior to a confirmation vote;
3. rejected – nominations rejected by the Senate;
4. lapsed – nominations that lapsed at the end of a session of Congress without a Senate vote cast on whether to confirm (including nominations that were postponed or tabled by the Senate that were not given further consideration).

Additionally, where the final Senate action on a nomination was a roll-call vote (as opposed to a voice vote or unanimous consent), the totals for and against are noted.

In listing all persons ever nominated to the Supreme Court, the table includes the names of those who were not confirmed as well as those who were confirmed but did not assume office. For a list solely of the 114 individuals who assumed office and served on the Court, see List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Not included in the table are intended nominees, announced presidential selections whose names were withdrawn prior to being submitted to the Senate,[upper-alpha 1] as such persons were never officially nominated to the Court.

Nominations

Nominee		Nominated by		Succession	Nomination
Name	Age	President	Party	Justice	Majority party	Date submitted	Outcome (vote) and date	ND
John Jay	43	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Sep. 24, 1789	confirmed Sep. 26, 1789	2
John Rutledge	50	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Sep. 24, 1789	confirmed Sep. 26, 1789	2
William Cushing	57	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Sep. 24, 1789	confirmed Sep. 26, 1789	2
James Wilson	47	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Sep. 24, 1789	confirmed Sep. 26, 1789	2
John Blair Jr.	57	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Sep. 24, 1789	confirmed Sep. 26, 1789	2
Robert H. Harrison	44	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Sep. 24, 1789	confirmed[upper-alpha 2] Sep. 26, 1789	2
James Iredell	38	Washington	None	Inaugural	Pro Admin	Feb. 8, 1790	confirmed Feb. 10, 1790	2
Thomas Johnson[upper-alpha 3]	58	Washington	None	J. Rutledge	Pro Admin	Oct. 31, 1791	confirmed Nov. 7, 1791	7
William Paterson	47	Washington	None	T. Johnson	Pro Admin	Feb. 27, 1793	withdrawn Feb. 28, 1793	1
William Paterson	47	Washington	None	T. Johnson	Pro Admin	Mar. 4, 1793	confirmed Mar. 4, 1793	0
John Rutledge[upper-alpha 3]	56	Washington	None	Jay	Federalist	Dec. 10, 1795	rejected (10–14)[upper-alpha 4] Dec. 15, 1795	5
William Cushing[upper-alpha 5]	63	Washington	None	Rutledge	Federalist	Jan. 26, 1796	confirmed[upper-alpha 6] Jan. 27, 1796	1
Samuel Chase	54	Washington	None	Blair	Federalist	Jan. 26, 1796	confirmed Jan. 27, 1796	1
Oliver Ellsworth	50	Washington	None	Rutledge	Federalist	Mar. 3, 1796	confirmed (21–1) Mar. 4, 1796	1
Bushrod Washington[upper-alpha 3]	36	J. Adams	Federalist	Wilson	Federalist	Dec. 19, 1798	confirmed Dec. 20, 1798	1
Alfred Moore	44	J. Adams	Federalist	Iredell	Federalist	Dec. 4, 1799	confirmed Dec. 10, 1799	6
John Jay	55	J. Adams	Federalist	Ellsworth	Federalist	Dec. 18, 1800	confirmed[upper-alpha 2] Dec. 19, 1800	1
John Marshall	45	J. Adams	Federalist	Ellsworth	Federalist	Jan. 20, 1801	confirmed Jan. 27, 1801	7
William Johnson	32	Jefferson	Dem-Rep	Moore	Dem-Rep	Mar. 22, 1804	confirmed Mar. 24, 1804	2
Henry B. Livingston[upper-alpha 3]	49	Jefferson	Dem-Rep	Paterson	Dem-Rep	Dec. 13, 1806	confirmed Dec. 17, 1806	4
Thomas Todd	42	Jefferson	Dem-Rep	new seat	Dem-Rep	Feb. 28, 1807	confirmed Mar. 2, 1807	2
Levi Lincoln Sr.	61	Madison	Dem-Rep	W. Cushing	Dem-Rep	Jan. 2, 1811	confirmed[upper-alpha 2] Jan. 3, 1811	1
Alexander Wolcott	52	Madison	Dem-Rep	W. Cushing	Dem-Rep	Feb. 4, 1811	rejected (9–24) Feb. 13, 1811	9
John Quincy Adams	43	Madison	Dem-Rep	W. Cushing	Dem-Rep	Feb. 21, 1811	confirmed[upper-alpha 2] Feb. 22, 1811	1
Joseph Story	32	Madison	Dem-Rep	W. Cushing	Dem-Rep	Nov. 15, 1811	confirmed Nov. 18, 1811	3
Gabriel Duvall	58	Madison	Dem-Rep	S. Chase	Dem-Rep	Nov. 15, 1811	confirmed Nov. 18, 1811	3
Smith Thompson[upper-alpha 3]	55	Monroe	Dem-Rep	Livingston	Dem-Rep	Dec. 5, 1823	confirmed Dec. 9, 1823	4
Robert Trimble	49	J. Q. Adams	Rep (A-C)[upper-alpha 7]	Todd	Rep (J–C)[upper-alpha 7]	Apr. 11, 1826	confirmed (27–5) May 9, 1826	28
John J. Crittenden	41	J. Q. Adams	Rep (A-C)	Trimble	Rep (J-C)	Dec. 17, 1828	postponed	57[upper-alpha 8]
John McLean	43	Jackson	Democratic	Trimble	Democratic	Mar. 6, 1829	confirmed Mar. 7, 1829	1
Henry Baldwin	49	Jackson	Democratic	Washington	Democratic	Jan. 4, 1830	confirmed (41–2) Jan. 6, 1830	2
James Moore Wayne	57	Jackson	Democratic	W. Johnson	Natl Rep	Jan. 6, 1835	confirmed Jan. 9, 1835	3
Roger B. Taney	57	Jackson	Democratic	Duvall	Natl Rep	Jan. 15, 1835	postponed	47[upper-alpha 8]
Roger B. Taney	58	Jackson	Democratic	Marshall	Democratic	Dec. 28, 1835	confirmed (29–15) Mar. 15, 1836	78
Philip P. Barbour	52	Jackson	Democratic	Duvall	Democratic	Dec. 28, 1835	confirmed (30–11) Mar. 15, 1836	78
John Catron	51	Jackson	Democratic	new seat	Democratic	Mar. 3, 1837	confirmed (28–15) Mar. 8, 1837	5
William Smith	74	Jackson	Democratic	new seat	Democratic	Mar. 3, 1837	confirmed[upper-alpha 2] (23–18) Mar. 8, 1837	5
John McKinley[upper-alpha 3]	57	Van Buren	Democratic	new seat	Democratic	Sep. 18, 1837	confirmed Sep. 25, 1837	7
Peter Vivian Daniel	56	Van Buren	Democratic	Barbour	Democratic	Feb. 26, 1841	confirmed (25–5) Mar. 2, 1841	4
John C. Spencer	56	Tyler	None	Thompson	Whig	Jan. 8, 1844	rejected (21–26) Jan. 31, 1844	23
Reuben Walworth	55	Tyler	None	Thompson	Whig	Mar. 13, 1844	withdrawn June 17, 1844	96
Edward King	50	Tyler	None	Baldwin	Whig	June 5, 1844	postponed	10[upper-alpha 8]
John C. Spencer	56	Tyler	None	Thompson	Whig	June 17, 1844	withdrawn June 17, 1844	0
Reuben Walworth	55	Tyler	None	Thompson	Whig	June 17, 1844	lapsed	999N/A
Reuben Walworth	56	Tyler	None	Thompson	Whig	Dec. 4, 1844	withdrawn Feb. 6, 1845	64
Edward King	50	Tyler	None	Baldwin	Whig	Dec. 4, 1844	withdrawn Feb. 8, 1845	66
Samuel Nelson	52	Tyler	None	Thompson	Whig	Feb. 4, 1845	confirmed Feb. 14, 1845	10
John M. Read	47	Tyler	None	Baldwin	Whig	Feb. 7, 1845	lapsed	999N/A
George Woodward	36	Polk	Democratic	Baldwin	Democratic	Dec. 23, 1845	rejected (20–29) Jan. 22, 1846	30
Levi Woodbury[upper-alpha 3]	56	Polk	Democratic	Story	Democratic	Dec. 23, 1845	confirmed Jan. 3, 1846	11
Robert Cooper Grier	52	Polk	Democratic	Baldwin	Democratic	Aug. 3, 1846	confirmed Aug. 4, 1846	1
Benjamin R. Curtis[upper-alpha 3]	42	Fillmore	Whig	Woodbury	Democratic	Dec. 11, 1851	confirmed Dec. 23, 1851	12
Edward A. Bradford	38	Fillmore	Whig	McKinley	Democratic	Aug. 16, 1852	lapsed	999N/A
George E. Badger	57	Fillmore	Whig	McKinley	Democratic	Jan. 3, 1853	withdrawn Feb. 14, 1853	43
William C. Micou	46	Fillmore	Whig	McKinley	Democratic	Feb. 14, 1853	lapsed	999N/A
John A. Campbell	41	Pierce	Democratic	McKinley	Democratic	Mar. 21, 1853	confirmed Mar. 22, 1853	1
Nathan Clifford	54	Buchanan	Democratic	Curtis	Democratic	Dec. 9, 1857	confirmed (26–23) Jan. 12, 1858	34
Jeremiah S. Black	51	Buchanan	Democratic	Daniel	Democratic	Feb. 5, 1861	lapsed	999N/A
Noah Haynes Swayne	57	Lincoln	Republican	McLean	Republican	Jan. 21, 1862	confirmed (38–1) Jan. 24, 1862	3
Samuel Freeman Miller	46	Lincoln	Republican	Daniel	Republican	July 16, 1862	confirmed July 16, 1862	0
David Davis[upper-alpha 3]	47	Lincoln	Republican	Campbell	Republican	Dec. 1, 1862	confirmed Dec. 8, 1862	7
Stephen Johnson Field	46	Lincoln	Republican	new seat	Republican	Mar. 6, 1863	confirmed Mar. 10, 1863	4
Salmon P. Chase	56	Lincoln	Republican	Taney	Republican	Dec. 6, 1864	confirmed Dec. 6, 1864	0
Henry Stanbery	63	A. Johnson	Natl Union	Catron	Republican	Apr. 16, 1866	lapsed[upper-alpha 9]	999N/A
Ebenezer R. Hoar	53	Grant	Republican	new seat	Republican	Dec. 14, 1869	rejected (24–33) Feb. 3, 1870	51
Edwin Stanton	55	Grant	Republican	Grier	Republican	Dec. 20, 1869	confirmed[upper-alpha 10] (46–11) Dec. 20, 1869	0
William Strong	61	Grant	Republican	Grier	Republican	Feb. 7, 1870	confirmed Feb. 18, 1870	1
Joseph P. Bradley	56	Grant	Republican	new seat	Republican	Feb. 7, 1870	confirmed (46–9) Mar. 21, 1870	42
Ward Hunt	62	Grant	Republican	Nelson	Republican	Dec. 3, 1872	confirmed Dec. 11, 1872	8
George Henry Williams	50	Grant	Republican	S. P. Chase	Republican	Dec. 1, 1873	withdrawn Jan. 8, 1874	38
Caleb Cushing	73	Grant	Republican	S. P. Chase	Republican	Jan. 9, 1874	withdrawn Jan. 13, 1874	4
Morrison Waite	57	Grant	Republican	S. P. Chase	Republican	Jan. 19, 1874	confirmed (63–0) Jan. 21, 1874	2
John Marshall Harlan	44	Hayes	Republican	Davis	Republican	Oct. 16, 1877	confirmed Nov. 29, 1877	44
William Burnham Woods	56	Hayes	Republican	Strong	Democratic	Dec. 15, 1880	confirmed (39–8) Dec. 21, 1880	6
Stanley Matthews	56	Hayes	Republican	Swayne	Democratic	Jan. 26, 1881	lapsed	999N/A
Stanley Matthews	56	Garfield	Republican	Swayne	Split	Mar. 14, 1881	confirmed (24–23) May 12, 1881	59
Horace Gray	53	Arthur	Republican	Clifford	Split	Dec. 19, 1881	confirmed (51–5) Dec. 20, 1881	1
Roscoe Conkling	52	Arthur	Republican	Hunt	Split	Feb. 24, 1882	confirmed[upper-alpha 2] (39–12) Mar. 2, 1882	6
Samuel Blatchford	62	Arthur	Republican	Hunt	Split	Mar. 13, 1882	confirmed Mar. 22, 1882	9
Lucius Q. C. Lamar II	62	Cleveland	Democratic	Woods	Republican	Dec. 6, 1887	confirmed (32–28) Jan. 16, 1888	41
Melville Fuller	55	Cleveland	Democratic	Waite	Republican	Apr. 30, 1888	confirmed (41–20) July 20, 1888	81
David Josiah Brewer	52	B. Harrison	Republican	Matthews	Republican	Dec. 4, 1889	confirmed (53–11) Dec. 18, 1889	14
Henry Billings Brown	54	B. Harrison	Republican	Miller	Republican	Dec. 23, 1890	confirmed Dec. 29, 1890	6
George Shiras Jr.	60	B. Harrison	Republican	Bradley	Republican	July 19, 1892	confirmed July 26, 1892	7
Howell E. Jackson	60	B. Harrison	Republican	L. Lamar	Republican	Feb. 2, 1893	confirmed Feb. 18, 1893	16
William B. Hornblower	42	Cleveland	Democratic	Blatchford	Democratic	Sep. 19, 1893	lapsed	999N/A
William B. Hornblower	42	Cleveland	Democratic	Blatchford	Democratic	Dec. 5, 1893	rejected (24–30) Jan. 15, 1894	41
Wheeler H. Peckham	61	Cleveland	Democratic	Blatchford	Democratic	Jan. 22, 1894	rejected (32–41) Feb. 16, 1894	25
Edward D. White	48	Cleveland	Democratic	Blatchford	Democratic	Feb. 19, 1894	confirmed Feb. 19, 1894	0
Rufus W. Peckham	57	Cleveland	Democratic	H. Jackson	Republican	Dec. 3, 1895	confirmed Dec. 9, 1895	6
Joseph McKenna	54	McKinley	Republican	Field	Republican	Dec. 16, 1897	confirmed Jan. 21, 1898	36
Oliver W. Holmes Jr.	61	T. Roosevelt	Republican	Gray	Republican	Dec. 2, 1902	confirmed Dec. 4, 1902	2
William R. Day	53	T. Roosevelt	Republican	Shiras	Republican	Feb. 19, 1903	confirmed Feb. 23, 1903	4
William Henry Moody	52	T. Roosevelt	Republican	Brown	Republican	Dec. 3, 1906	confirmed Dec. 12, 1906	9
Horace Harmon Lurton	65	Taft	Republican	R. Peckham	Republican	Dec. 13, 1909	confirmed Dec. 20, 1909	7
Charles Evans Hughes	48	Taft	Republican	Brewer	Republican	Apr. 25, 1910	confirmed May 2, 1910	7
Edward D. White[upper-alpha 5]	65	Taft	Republican	Fuller	Republican	Dec. 12, 1910	confirmed Dec. 12, 1910	0
Willis Van Devanter	51	Taft	Republican	E. D. White	Republican	Dec. 12, 1910	confirmed Dec. 15, 1910	3
Joseph Rucker Lamar	53	Taft	Republican	Moody	Republican	Dec. 12, 1910	confirmed Dec. 15, 1910	3
Mahlon Pitney	54	Taft	Republican	J. Harlan	Republican	Feb. 19, 1912	confirmed (50–26) Mar. 13, 1912	23
James C. McReynolds	52	Wilson	Democratic	Lurton	Democratic	Aug. 19, 1914	confirmed (44–6) Aug. 29, 1914	10
Louis Brandeis	59	Wilson	Democratic	J. Lamar	Democratic	Jan. 28, 1916	confirmed (47–22) June 1, 1916	125
John Hessin Clarke	58	Wilson	Democratic	Hughes	Democratic	July 14, 1916	confirmed July 24, 1916	10
William Howard Taft	63	Harding	Republican	E. D. White	Republican	June 30, 1921	confirmed June 30, 1921	0
George Sutherland	60	Harding	Republican	Clarke	Republican	Sep. 5, 1922	confirmed Sep. 5, 1922	0
Pierce Butler	56	Harding	Republican	Day	Republican	Nov. 21, 1922	lapsed	999N/A
Pierce Butler	56	Harding	Republican	Day	Republican	Dec. 5, 1922	confirmed (61–8) Dec. 21, 1922	16
Edward Terry Sanford	57	Harding	Republican	Pitney	Republican	Jan. 24, 1923	confirmed Jan. 29, 1923	5
Harlan F. Stone	52	Coolidge	Republican	McKenna	Republican	Jan. 5, 1925	confirmed (71–6) Feb. 5, 1925	31
Charles Evans Hughes	67	Hoover	Republican	Taft	Republican	Feb. 3, 1930	confirmed (52–26) Feb. 13, 1930	10
John J. Parker	44	Hoover	Republican	Sanford	Republican	Mar. 21, 1930	rejected (39–41) May 7, 1930	47
Owen Roberts	55	Hoover	Republican	Sanford	Republican	May 9, 1930	confirmed May 20, 1930	11
Benjamin N. Cardozo	61	Hoover	Republican	Holmes	Republican	Feb. 15, 1932	confirmed Feb. 24, 1932	9
Hugo Black	51	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Van Devanter	Democratic	Aug. 12, 1937[upper-alpha 11]	confirmed (63–16) Aug. 17, 1937	5
Stanley Forman Reed	53	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Sutherland	Democratic	Jan. 15, 1938	confirmed Jan. 25, 1938	10
Felix Frankfurter	56	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Cardozo	Democratic	Jan. 5, 1939	confirmed Jan. 17, 1939	12
William O. Douglas	40	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Brandeis	Democratic	Mar. 20, 1939	confirmed (62–4) Apr. 4, 1939	15
Frank Murphy	49	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Butler	Democratic	Jan. 4, 1940	confirmed Jan. 16, 1940	14
Harlan F. Stone[upper-alpha 5]	68	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Hughes	Democratic	June 12, 1941	confirmed June 27, 1941	15
James F. Byrnes	59	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	McReynolds	Democratic	June 12, 1941	confirmed June 12, 1941	0
Robert H. Jackson	49	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Stone	Democratic	June 12, 1941	confirmed July 7, 1941	25
Wiley Blount Rutledge	48	F. D. Roosevelt	Democratic	Byrnes	Democratic	Jan. 11, 1943	confirmed Feb. 8, 1943	28
Harold Hitz Burton	57	Truman	Democratic	O. Roberts	Democratic	Sep. 19, 1945	confirmed Sep. 19, 1945	0
Fred M. Vinson	56	Truman	Democratic	Stone	Democratic	June 6, 1946	confirmed June 20, 1946	14
Tom C. Clark	49	Truman	Democratic	Murphy	Democratic	Aug. 2, 1949	confirmed (73–8) Aug. 18, 1949	16
Sherman Minton	58	Truman	Democratic	W. Rutledge	Democratic	Sep. 15, 1949	confirmed (48–16) Oct. 4, 1949	19
Earl Warren[upper-alpha 3]	62	Eisenhower	Republican	Vinson	Republican	Jan. 11, 1954	confirmed Mar. 1, 1954	49
John Marshall Harlan II	55	Eisenhower	Republican	R. Jackson	Republican	Nov. 9, 1954	lapsed	999N/A
John Marshall Harlan II	55	Eisenhower	Republican	R. Jackson	Republican	Jan. 10, 1955	confirmed (71–11) Mar. 16, 1955	65
William J. Brennan Jr.[upper-alpha 3]	50	Eisenhower	Republican	Minton	Democratic	Jan. 14, 1957	confirmed Mar. 19, 1957	64
Charles Evans Whittaker	56	Eisenhower	Republican	Reed	Democratic	Mar. 2, 1957	confirmed Mar. 19, 1957	17
Potter Stewart[upper-alpha 3]	43	Eisenhower	Republican	Burton	Democratic	Jan. 17, 1959	confirmed (70–17) May 5, 1959	108
Byron White	44	Kennedy	Democratic	Whittaker	Democratic	Apr. 3, 1962	confirmed Apr. 11, 1962	8
Arthur Goldberg	54	Kennedy	Democratic	Frankfurter	Democratic	Aug. 31, 1962	confirmed Sep. 25, 1962	25
Abe Fortas	55	L. Johnson	Democratic	Goldberg	Democratic	July 28, 1965	confirmed Aug. 11, 1965	14
Thurgood Marshall	58	L. Johnson	Democratic	Clark	Democratic	June 13, 1967	confirmed (69–11) Aug. 30, 1967	78
Abe Fortas[upper-alpha 5]	58	L. Johnson	Democratic	Warren	Democratic	June 26, 1968	withdrawn[upper-alpha 12] Oct. 2, 1968	98
Homer Thornberry	59	L. Johnson	Democratic	Fortas	Democratic	June 26, 1968	withdrawn Oct. 2, 1968	98
Warren E. Burger	61	Nixon	Republican	Warren	Democratic	May 23, 1969	confirmed (74–3) June 9, 1969	17
Clement Haynsworth	56	Nixon	Republican	Fortas	Democratic	Aug. 21, 1969	rejected (45–55) Nov. 21, 1969	92
G. Harrold Carswell	50	Nixon	Republican	Fortas	Democratic	Jan. 19, 1970	rejected (45–51) Apr. 8, 1970	79
Harry Blackmun	61	Nixon	Republican	Fortas	Democratic	Apr. 15, 1970	confirmed (94–0) May 12, 1970	27
Lewis F. Powell Jr.	64	Nixon	Republican	H. Black	Democratic	Oct. 22, 1971	confirmed (89–1) Dec. 6, 1971	45
William Rehnquist	47	Nixon	Republican	J. Harlan II	Democratic	Oct. 22, 1971	confirmed (68–26) Dec. 10, 1971	49
John Paul Stevens	55	Ford	Republican	Douglas	Democratic	Nov. 28, 1975	confirmed (98–0) Dec. 17, 1975	19
Sandra Day O'Connor	51	Reagan	Republican	Stewart	Republican	Aug. 19, 1981	confirmed (99–0) Sep. 21, 1981	33
William Rehnquist[upper-alpha 5]	61	Reagan	Republican	Burger	Republican	June 20, 1986	confirmed (65–33) Sep. 17, 1986	89
Antonin Scalia	50	Reagan	Republican	Rehnquist	Republican	June 24, 1986	confirmed (98–0) Sep. 17, 1986	85
Robert Bork	60	Reagan	Republican	Powell	Democratic	July 1, 1987	rejected (42–58) Oct. 23, 1987	114
Anthony Kennedy	51	Reagan	Republican	Powell	Democratic	Nov. 30, 1987	confirmed (97–0) Feb. 3, 1988	65
David Souter	50	G. H. W. Bush	Republican	Brennan	Democratic	July 25, 1990	confirmed (90–9) Oct. 2, 1990	69
Clarence Thomas	43	G. H. W. Bush	Republican	T. Marshall	Democratic	July 8, 1991	confirmed (52–48) Oct. 15, 1991	99
Ruth Bader Ginsburg	60	Clinton	Democratic	B. White	Democratic	June 14, 1993	confirmed (96–3) Aug. 3, 1993	50
Stephen Breyer	55	Clinton	Democratic	Blackmun	Democratic	May 17, 1994	confirmed (87–9) July 29, 1994	73
John Roberts	50	G. W. Bush	Republican	O'Connor	Republican	July 29, 2005	withdrawn Sep. 6, 2005	39
John Roberts	50	G. W. Bush	Republican	Rehnquist	Republican	Sep. 6, 2005	confirmed (78–22) Sep. 29, 2005	23
Harriet Miers	60	G. W. Bush	Republican	O'Connor	Republican	Oct. 7, 2005	withdrawn Oct. 28, 2005	21
Samuel Alito	55	G. W. Bush	Republican	O'Connor	Republican	Nov. 10, 2005	confirmed (58–42) Jan. 31, 2006	82
Sonia Sotomayor	54	Obama	Democratic	Souter	Democratic	June 1, 2009	confirmed (68–31) Aug. 6, 2009	66
Elena Kagan	50	Obama	Democratic	Stevens	Democratic	May 10, 2010	confirmed (63–37) Aug. 5, 2010	87
Merrick Garland	63	Obama	Democratic	Scalia	Republican	Mar. 16, 2016	lapsed	999N/A
Neil Gorsuch	49	Trump	Republican	Scalia	Republican	Feb. 1, 2017	confirmed (54–45) Apr. 7, 2017	65
Brett Kavanaugh	53	Trump	Republican	Kennedy	Republican	July 10, 2018	confirmed (50–48) Oct. 6, 2018	88
Sources: [3][4][5]

Notes

1. Such as Ronald Reagan's October 1987 selection of Douglas H. Ginsburg to be associate justice (in the aftermath of the Senate's rejection of the nomination of Robert Bork), which was withdrawn before being conveyed to the Senate.
2. Declined to serve.
3. Nominee was serving on the Court under a recess appointment when the nomination was made.
4. This was the first Supreme Court nomination to be rejected by the United States Senate. Rutledge remains the only "recess appointed" justice not to be subsequently confirmed by the Senate.[4]
5. Incumbent associate justice nominated for chief justice. Such appointments are subject to a separate confirmation process.
6. Declined and continued to serve as an associate justice.
7. The political allies of Andrew Jackson and William H. Crawford held a majority in the Senate over the allies of John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay throughout Adams' presidency.
8. Senate voted to postpone taking action on this nomination, effectively eliminating any prospect of confirmation. The number of days elapsed is measured from date the president formally made the nomination to the date of the action to postpone.
9. On July 23, 1866, Andrew Johnson signed the Judicial Circuits Act into law. The Act, which provided for the gradual elimination of several seats on the Supreme Court, effectively voided Stanbery's nomination, and ultimately denied Johnson the opportunity of placing any justices on the Supreme Court.
10. Died prior to becoming a member of the Court.
11. Franklin D. Roosevelt's letter of nomination for Hugo Black was undated. August 12, 1937 is the date that letter was received in the Senate.
12. Continued to serve as an associate justice.

References

1. "Landmark Legislation: Judiciary Act of 1789". Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
2. "Landmark Legislation: Circuit Judgeships". Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
3. "Supreme Court Nominations: present–1789". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Secretary, United States Senate. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
4. McMillion, Barry J.; Rutkus, Denis Steven (July 6, 2018). "Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2017: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
5. "Party Division". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Secretary, United States Senate. Retrieved May 14, 2019.

External links

• Supreme Court Nominations Research Guide, Georgetown University Law Library
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee