118th Congress Congress
S. 859: Every Supreme Court Nominee Deserves Timely Consideration Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill establishes procedures under Senate rules through which any Senator may expedite the vote on a nominee for the Supreme Court.
Currently, most nominations, including for Supreme Court Justices, must be referred for consideration to the Senate committee with relevant jurisdiction before the nominations receive a vote in the Senate. A committee considering a nomination may (1) report out the nomination favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation; or (2) choose to take no action. Nominations that are pending when the Senate adjourns at the end of a session or recesses for more than 30 days are typically returned to the President.
Under this bill, if the Judiciary Committee fails to report out a nomination for a Supreme Court Justice within 60 continuous days of session, any Senator may publish a notice of intent to discharge the nomination from the committee in the Congressional Record. Next, if 30 Senators support discharging the nomination within the 20 days following the publication of the notice, the nomination must be placed on the Senate calendar for debate and vote.
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The bill limits the duration of the debate and permits Senators to object to the consideration of debatable motions and appeals related to the nomination. The vote on the nomination must be held immediately following the debate.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Alejandro Padilla D-CA
Who scored on this bill
No member has earned points from it yet.
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History
- Introduced in the Senate by Jeff Merkley.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.