The appointments clause divides the power to fill offices: the President nominates, and the Senate confirms. The framers saw Senate confirmation as a check against favoritism and unfit appointments, and Alexander Hamilton argued in Federalist No. 76 that the need to win Senate approval would discourage poor choices. Congress can allow inferior officers to be appointed by the President alone, the courts, or department heads.
This guide follows a nomination from the White House to the Senate floor, explains how confirmation rules have changed, and describes what happens when the Senate does not act.
Outright rejections are rare. The Senate has voted down only nine Cabinet nominees in its history, most recently in 1989. More often, nominations stall, are withdrawn, or are returned to the President at the end of a session. Meanwhile, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act lets designated officials serve in an acting capacity for limited periods. Presidents can make recess appointments when the Senate is in recess, but in NLRB v. Noel Canning in 2014 the Court held that recesses of fewer than ten days do not count, and the Senate now holds brief pro forma sessions to prevent them.
The Senate confirms principal officers of the United States, including Cabinet secretaries, agency heads, ambassadors, federal judges, U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, and senior military officers, whose promotions are confirmed in large lists. Each new administration has about 4,000 political positions to fill, about a third of them requiring confirmation, all listed in the Plum Book. Congress has periodically reduced the number of confirmed posts to ease the burden.
Judicial confirmations carry the highest stakes because judges serve for life. Supreme Court nominations draw weeks of hearings and national attention. The Senate has rejected 12 Supreme Court nominees by recorded vote, most recently in 1987, and in 2016 it declined to act on a nomination made during an election year. Supporters of a vigorous confirmation process say it is an essential check, while critics say partisan fights have left key offices vacant and turned confirmations into political campaigns.
The White House Office of Presidential Personnel identifies candidates, and the White House Counsel oversees vetting. Nominees complete detailed questionnaires, undergo FBI background investigations, and file financial disclosures reviewed by the Office of Government Ethics, which often requires them to sell assets or recuse from matters to avoid conflicts. Only then is the nomination formally sent to the Senate.
Reported nominations go on the Senate's executive calendar. Many lower-level nominees were long confirmed by unanimous consent, but any senator can object or place a hold, forcing the majority leader to file cloture. Since the nuclear option in 2013 for most nominees and 2017 for the Supreme Court, cloture on nominations needs only a simple majority, and since 2019 debate after cloture on most nominees is limited to two hours. In September 2025 the Senate began allowing groups of sub-cabinet nominees to be confirmed together.
Each nomination is referred to the committee with jurisdiction, such as Judiciary for judges and the Attorney General, Armed Services for defense officials, and Foreign Relations for ambassadors. Committees send their own questionnaires, meet privately with nominees, and hold public hearings for senior posts, where senators question nominees on their records and views. The committee then votes to report the nomination. For judicial nominees, the Judiciary Committee's blue slip custom gives home-state senators influence over district court nominees.
See who gets appointed in civil servants vs. elected officials, follow judicial nominees in how federal judges are chosen, or learn how the filibuster changed in the filibuster explained.