Unsuccessful Nominations To The Supreme Court Of The United States
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are nominated by the President and are then confirmed by the Senate. Presidential administrations are listed with any unsuccessful Supreme Court nominees—that is, individuals who were nominated and who either declined their own nomination, failed the confirmation vote in the Senate, or whose nomination was withdrawn by the president.
As of 2010, 151 people have been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Twenty-nine nominations (which includes one promotion) have been unsuccessful on at least the first try. Of those 29:
- 12 were fully considered and formally rejected by the Senate.
- 7 (including a nomination of an Associate Justice for Chief Justice) were withdrawn by the President before a formal consideration could be taken by the Senate.
- One of these nominations was withdrawn because of the Ineligibility Clause, but was confirmed after its applicability was no longer an issue.
- 5 had no action taken on them.
- One of these was because of a change in the Presidency, but the nomination was resubmitted by the incoming President and confirmed.
- 3 had formal votes on the nominations were postponed.
- One of these nominations was reconsidered after a change in Senate composition and confirmed.
- 2 had nominations nullified by other circumstances without being formally considered.
Read more about Unsuccessful Nominations To The Supreme Court Of The United States: George Washington, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Table
Famous quotes containing the words the united states, united states, unsuccessful, supreme, court, united and/or states:
“To be President of the United States, sir, is to act as advocate for a blind, venomous, and ungrateful client; still, one must make the best of the case, for the purposes of Providence.”
—John Updike (b. 1932)
“The United States Constitution has proved itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Historian—An unsuccessful novelist.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“Ask a toad what beauty is, the supreme beauty, the to kalon. He will tell you it is his lady toad with her two big round eyes coming out of her little head, her large flat snout, yellow belly, brown back.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)
“The city is recruited from the country. In the year 1805, it is said, every legitimate monarch in Europe was imbecile. The city would have died out, rotted, and exploded, long ago, but that it was reinforced from the fields. It is only country which came to town day before yesterday, that is city and court today.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Why doesn’t the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the more they will dwindle. At least you could use it for a summer resort instead of Maine.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“With steady eye on the real issue, let us reinaugurate the good old “central ideas” of the Republic. We can do it. The human heart is with us—God is with us. We shall again be able not to declare, that “all States as States, are equal,” nor yet that “all citizens as citizens are equal,” but to renew the broader, better declaration, including both these and much more, that “all men are created equal.””
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)