TheSupreme Court of the United States is the highest-rankingjudicial body in theUnited States. Established byArticle III of the Constitution, the detailed structure of the court was laid down by the1st United States Congress in 1789. Congress specified the Court'soriginal andappellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the initial size of the Supreme Court. The number of justices on the Supreme Court changed six times before settling at the present total of nine in 1869.^[1] As of June 2022, a total of 116 justices have served on the Supreme Court since 1789.^[2] Justices havelife tenure, and so they serve until they die in office, resign or retire, or areimpeached and removed from office.

Justices are nominated by thePresident of the United States and then must be confirmed by theUnited States Senate, before being officially appointed. A nomination to the Court is 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. There have been 37unsuccessful nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States. Of these, 11 nominees were rejected in Senateroll-call votes, 11 were withdrawn by the president, and 15 lapsed at the end of asession of Congress. Six of these unsuccessful nominees were subsequently nominated and confirmed to seats on the Court.^[3] Additionally, although confirmed, seven nominees declined office and one died before assuming office.^[4]

Among the six original nominees to the Supreme Court,George Washington nominatedRobert H. Harrison, who declined to serve.^[5] The seat remained empty until the confirmation ofJames Iredell in 1790.

Washington nominatedWilliam Paterson for the Supreme Court on February 27, 1793.^[6] The nomination was withdrawn by the President the following day. Washington had realized that since thelaw establishing the positions within the Supreme Court had been passed during Paterson's term as a Senator (a post he had resigned in November 1790 after being elected Governor ofNew Jersey) the nomination was a violation ofArticle I, Section 6 of the Constitution. Washington re-nominated Paterson to the Court on March 4, 1793, after the expiration of what would have been Paterson's term as Senator had he not resigned, and Paterson was confirmed by the Senate.^[6]

John Jay resigned as Chief Justice on June 29, 1795, after beingelected Governor of New York. The subsequent nomination ofJohn Rutledge as Chief Justice was rejected by a vote of 10–14 on December 15, 1795. Rutledge's strident and vocal opposition to theJay Treaty may have been the main reason for his rejection. Because he had been arecess appointment, Rutledge served as Chief Justice for one term.^[7] Washington nominated Associate JusticeWilliam Cushing to replace him as Chief Justice, but Cushing declined the role. Washington then successfully appointedOliver Ellsworth to serve as the next Chief Justice.^[4]

AfterOliver Ellsworth decided to resign from the position of Chief Justice, PresidentJohn Adams sought to replace Ellsworth with John Jay, who had been the first Chief Justice. Jay was formally nominated, but turned down the position. Adams then successfully nominated his Secretary of State,John Marshall.^[8]

WhenWilliam Cushing died,James Madison nominatedLevi Lincoln Sr. on January 2, 1811. Lincoln declined the nomination.^[9]Alexander Wolcott was then nominated, but was rejected by a vote of 9–24 on February 13, 1811.^[9] AfterJohn Quincy Adams declined a nomination, Madison was finally successful in filling the seat with his appointment ofJoseph Story.^[4]

John Quincy Adams nominatedJohn J. Crittenden on December 18, 1828. The Senate postponed the vote on his confirmation, by a vote of 23–17, on February 12, 1829. The Senate did not explicitly vote to "postpone indefinitely", but the resolution did have that effect.^[10] President Andrew Jackson instead filled the position withJohn McLean.^[4]

Andrew Jackson nominatedRoger B. Taney on January 15, 1835, to be an Associate Justice. A resolution was passed by a Senate vote of 24–21 on March 3, 1835, to postpone the nomination indefinitely.^[11] Jackson nominated Taney again on December 28, 1835. After the political composition of the Senate changed the next year, Taney was confirmed asChief Justice March 15, 1836.^[11]

In 1837, Jackson nominatedWilliam Smith andJohn Catron to newly created seats. Both were confirmed, but Smith declined to serve. Later that year, Jackson's successorMartin Van Buren appointedJohn McKinley to fill the vacancy.^[4]

John Tyler experienced extreme difficulty in obtaining approval of his nominees due to his lack of political support in the Senate. Tyler took office in 1841 after the death ofWhig PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison. Tyler had been Harrison's running mate in the1840 election, but Tyler clashed with the Congressional Whigs over issues such as thenational bank, and these clashes extended to judicial nominees.^[12]

John Canfield Spencer was nominated on January 9, 1844, and his nomination was defeated by a vote of 21–26 on January 31, 1844.Reuben H. Walworth was nominated on March 13, 1844, and a resolution to table the nomination passed on a 27–20 vote on June 15, 1844. The nomination was withdrawn from the Senate on June 17, 1844.Edward King was nominated on June 5, 1844. A resolution to table the nomination passed by a vote of 29–18 on June 15, 1844. No other action was taken on this nomination.^[12]

The same day that Walworth's nomination was withdrawn, Spencer was re-submitted, but there is no record of debate and a letter from the President withdrawing the nomination was received on the same day. Walworth was then re-nominated later that same day, but the motion to act on the nomination in the Senate was objected to, and no further action was taken.^[12]

Walworth and King were re-nominated on December 10, 1844, but both nominations were tabled on January 21, 1845. Walworth's nomination was withdrawn on February 6, 1845, and King's two days later.John M. Read was nominated on February 8, 1845, and there was a motion to consider the nomination in the Senate on January 21, 1845, but the motion was unsuccessful and no other action was taken.^[12] On February 14, 1845, the Senate voted to confirmSamuel Nelson.^[4]

AfterHenry Baldwin's death in 1844,James K. Polk nominatedJames Buchanan, who declined the nomination.^[13] Polk then nominatedGeorge W. Woodward, but the Senate rejected him by a vote of 20–29.^[13] Baldwin was finally replaced byRobert Cooper Grier in 1846.^[4]

Millard Fillmore, the last member of theWhig Party to serve as president, made three nominations to replaceJohn McKinley, nominatingEdward A. Bradford,George Edmund Badger, andWilliam C. Micou, but the Senate, controlled by theDemocratic Party, did not take action on any of the nominees. Democratic PresidentFranklin Pierce filled the vacancy withJohn Archibald Campbell.^[4]

James Buchanan nominatedJeremiah S. Black to the court in early February 1861 to replacePeter Vivian Daniel. A motion to bring the nomination up for discussion was defeated 25–26 on February 21, 1861.^[14] His successor,Abraham Lincoln, filled the seat withSamuel Freeman Miller in 1862.^[4]

Andrew Johnson took office after the death ofRepublican Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Johnson, a formerDemocrat, had been Lincoln's running mate on theNational Union ticket of 1864, but Johnson disagreed with Congressional Republicans on several issues, including judicial nominees.

Two justices died in office during Johnson's administration,James Moore Wayne andJohn Catron. Johnson had, in April 1866, nominatedHenry Stanbery to be an Associate Justice. The following July, however, Congress passed theJudicial Circuits Act of 1866, which provided for a gradual elimination of seats until only seven were left.^[15] Due to the reduction of seats, Stanbery's nomination was nullified.^[16] Chief JusticeSalmon P. Chase had urged for this reduction in the hopes that it would result in an increase of the justices' salaries, which, ironically, did not happen until Congress restored the size of the court to nine members in 1871.

Ulysses S. Grant nominatedEbenezer R. Hoar to a new seat on the court. The Senate rejected this nomination by a vote of 24–33.^[17]: 54 Grant successfully nominatedJoseph Bradley for the seat.^[4]

Grant also nominatedEdwin M. Stanton, formerAttorney General andSecretary of War to the court.^[17]: 79 The nomination was eventually confirmed, but Stanton died before he was commissioned.^[18] Grant then successfully nominatedWilliam Strong.^[4]

Grant nominatedGeorge Henry Williams to beChief Justice of the United States in 1873, but he later withdrew from consideration.^[19] Prior to withdrawal of consideration, theSenate Judiciary Committee declined to recommend confirmation to the entire Senate.^[20] Grant then nominatedCaleb Cushing for Chief Justice on January 9, 1874, but despite Cushing's great learning and eminence at the bar, his anti-war record and the feeling of distrust experienced by many members of the U.S. Senate on account of his inconsistency, aroused such vigorous opposition that his nomination was withdrawn on January 13, 1874.^[21] Grant was successful with his third nomination ofMorrison Waite.^[4]

Early in 1881, PresidentRutherford B. Hayes nominatedThomas Stanley Matthews for the position of Associate Justice. Matthews was a controversial nominee due to his close ties to the railroad industry,^[22] and as the nomination came near the end of Hayes's term, the Senate did not act on it. However, upon succeeding Hayes, incoming PresidentJames A. Garfield (who, like Hayes, was a Republican) renominated Matthews, and the Senate confirmed him by a vote of 24 to 23, the narrowest confirmation for a successful U.S. Supreme Court nominee in history. He served on the Court until his death in 1889.^[23][24]

In 1882,Chester A. Arthur nominatedRoscoe Conkling to serve as an Associate Justice afterWard Hunt resigned.^[25] Conkling was confirmed,^[26] and then declined the position.^[27]

After Conkling declined, Arthur nominatedGeorge F. Edmunds, who twice declined to serve.^[28] Arthur then nominatedSamuel Blatchford, who was confirmed and accepted.^[29]

Associate JusticeSamuel Blatchford died in 1893, during the second term ofGrover Cleveland.^[30] This seat was traditionally held by aNew Yorker. Cleveland's first two nominees were not confirmed by the Senate; the nomination ofWilliam Hornblower was rejected by the Senate by a vote of 24–30 on January 15, 1894.^[4] Cleveland's follow-up nomineeWheeler Hazard Peckham was also rejected by the Senate, 32–41, on February 16, 1894.^[4]

By the tradition ofSenatorial courtesy, other Senators generally deferred to a nominee's home state senators when evaluating a presidential nomination.^[31] The Senators from New York wereEdward Murphy Jr. andDavid B. Hill;^[32] Hill objected to Cleveland's nominations, and most other Senators supported Hill.^[33] Hill was a rival of Cleveland's who had lost theDemocratic nomination for President to him in 1892.^[34]

Cleveland finally overcame Hill's opposition by nominatingEdward Douglass White of Louisiana.^[35] White was a sitting Senator, andSenatorial courtesy dictated that the Senate not reject one of its own.^[36] White's nomination was approved; he served as an Associate Justice until 1910,^[37] and as Chief Justice until his death in 1921.^[38]

PresidentWarren G. Harding nominatedPierce Butler to the Supreme Court in 1922, but the Senate refused to consider his nomination, in part due to Butler's advocacy for railroad interests. However, Harding re-submitted the nomination later in the year, and Butler was confirmed in a 61–8 vote.^[22]

On May 7, 1930,Herbert Hoover's nomination of Appellate JudgeJohn J. Parker for the Supreme Court was rejected by a vote of 39–41.^[39] Parker was nominated to replaceEdward Terry Sanford. TheAmerican Federation of Labor opposed Parker for his rulings that were favorable towardsyellow dog contracts and theNAACP opposed Parker due to concerns about Parker's racial views.^[40] Hoover attempted to appeal to Southern Democratic senators to vote for Parker, who was from North Carolina, but Hoover was unable to win enough Democratic votes to make up for Republican defections.^[40] Hoover's second nominee,Owen J. Roberts, was confirmed by the Senate.^[4]

PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower nominatedJohn Marshall Harlan II in 1954, but his nomination was not reported out of the judiciary committee, in part due to opposition to his purported "ultra-liberal" views. Eisenhower re-nominated Harlan in 1955, and the Senate confirmed him in a 71–11 vote.^[22]

Lyndon B. Johnson nominatedAbe Fortas, then an associate justice, for Chief Justice. Fortas would have succeededEarl Warren, who had decided to retire. Controversy ensued regarding Fortas's extrajudicial activities, and at Fortas's request, Johnson withdrew the nomination prior to a vote of the full Senate.^[41] Fortas's nomination was also opposed by many senators who opposed the rulings of theWarren Court, especiallyMiranda v. Arizona.^[22][42] Fortas's nomination was also injured after Johnson withdrew from the1968 presidential election, leaving himself as alame duck.^[43] President Nixon instead filled the vacancy caused by Warren's retirement withWarren Burger.

When Johnson nominated Fortas, he also nominatedHomer Thornberry to fill Fortas' seat. Since Fortas withdrew his name from the Chief Justice nomination, but maintained his seat as an Associate Justice (with Earl Warren continuing as Chief Justice), the nomination of Thornberry was void. He was never voted on by the Senate.^[44]

After the Republicans scuttled Fortas's nomination as Supreme Court Chief Justice, Democrats retaliated by interfering with Nixon's plans to nominate aSouthern conservative justice as part of the Republican Party'sSouthern Strategy.^[43] WhenAbe Fortas resigned in 1969 because of a scandal separate from his Chief Justice bid,Richard Nixon nominatedClement Haynsworth, aSouthern jurist. His nomination was rejected by the Senate by a vote of 45–55 on November 21, 1969,^[45] due to concerns about Haynsworth's civil rights record and perceived ethical lapses.^[22] In response, Nixon nominatedG. Harrold Carswell, aFloridian with a history of supportingsegregation and opposingwomen's rights. The Senate rejected his nomination 45 to 51 on April 8, 1970, following much pressure from theCivil Rights andFeminist movements.^[46] Nixon's third nominee for the Fortas vacancy wasHarry Blackmun, who was confirmed by the Senate with no opposition on May 17, 1970.

Nixon was soon faced with two more Supreme Court vacancies whenJohn Harlan andHugo Black retired in the fall of 1971. Nixon considered nominating Arkansas lawyerHershel Friday and California intermediate appellate judgeMildred Lillie to the high court. By tradition at the time, potential Supreme Court nominees were first disclosed to theAmerican Bar Association's standing committee on the federal judiciary. When it became apparent that this 12-member committee would find that both were unqualified, Nixon passed over Friday and Lillie,^[47] and nominatedLewis Powell andWilliam Rehnquist. Powell was confirmed by an 89–1 vote, and Rehnquist was confirmed 68–26.^[4]

WhenLewis Powell retired in July 1987,Ronald Reagan nominatedRobert Bork. Bork was a member of theCourt of Appeals for the District of Columbia at the time and known as a proponent of constitutionaloriginalism. Bork lost confirmation by a Senate vote of 42 to 58, largely due to Bork's conservative opinions on constitutional issues and his role in theNixonSaturday Night Massacre.^[48]

Reagan then announced his intention to nominateDouglas H. Ginsburg to the court. Before Ginsburg could be officially nominated, he withdrew himself from consideration under heavy pressure after revealing that he had smokedmarijuana with his students while a professor atHarvard Law School.^[49] Reagan then nominatedAnthony Kennedy, who was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97–0.^[4]

In October 2005,George W. Bush nominatedHarriet Miers, acorporate attorney fromTexas who had served as Bush's private attorney and asWhite House Counsel, as an Associate Justice to replace retiring JusticeSandra Day O'Connor. Miers was widely perceived as unqualified for the position, and it later emerged that she had allowed her law license to lapse for a time. The nomination was immediately attacked by politicians and commentators from across the political spectrum. At Miers's request, Bush withdrew the nomination on October 27, ostensibly to avoid violatingexecutive privilege by disclosing details of her work at the White House.^[50] Four days later, Bush nominatedSamuel Alito to the seat. Alito was confirmed by a vote of 58–42 on January 31, 2006.^[4]

In February 2016, Associate JusticeAntonin Scalia died. The following month, PresidentBarack Obama nominated D.C. Circuit JudgeMerrick Garland to replace Scalia. However, the Senate was controlled by the Republican Party, which argued that the next president should instead appoint Scalia's successor.^[51]Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings on Garland, and Garland's nomination remained before the Senate longer than any other Supreme Court nomination.^[52] Garland's nomination expired with the end of the114th United States Congress.^[53]

The vacancy caused by Scalia's death remained unfilled for 422 days, making it just the second Supreme Court vacancy since the end of theAmerican Civil War to remain unfilled for more than one year.^[54] On January 31, 2017, PresidentDonald Trump, who succeeded Obama, nominated federal appeals court JudgeNeil Gorsuch to replace Justice Scalia. Justice Gorsuch was sworn in on April 10, 2017, after being confirmed by a vote of 54–45.

Following is a list of the 31 unsuccessful Supreme Court nominations.

Six Supreme Court nominees were neither confirmed nor rejected immediately, but were re-nominated within months of their first nomination and then confirmed to a position on the Court:

Following is a list of the eight confirmed supreme Court nominees who never served on the Court.

• List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States
• Thurmond rule
• Unsuccessful nominations to the Cabinet of the United States

• Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed, 1789–August 2010, Congressional Research Service (RL31171).
• Jacobstein, J. Myron; Mersky, Roy M. (1993).The Rejected: Sketches of the 26 Men Nominated for the Supreme Court but Not Confirmed by the Senate. Toucan Valley.ISBN 978-0-9634017-4-8.

• Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court
• Federal judicial appointment controversies in the United States

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from January 2026
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from November 2016