Factbox: How the Senate voted on other Supreme Court justices

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WASHINGTON | Thu Aug 5, 2010 5:37pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate confirmations of Supreme Court nominees have becoming increasingly partisan during the past two decades.

President Barack Obama's second nominee to the nation's highest court, Elena Kagan, won Senate approval by a vote of 63-37 on Thursday.

All the Democratic senators but one voted for her, two independent senators voted for her and five Republicans voted for her. All the other Republican senators opposed her nomination.

The debate over her nomination was especially partisan ahead of the November congressional elections. Following are the Senate confirmation votes of the high court's eight other members and the president who appointed them.

* Sonia Sotomayor, nominated by the Democrat Obama, was confirmed by a 68-31 vote on August 6, 2009.

* Samuel Alito, nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, was confirmed a 58-42 vote on January 31, 2006.

* John Roberts, nominated by Bush, was confirmed by a 78-22 vote on September 29, 2005.

* Stephen Breyer, nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, was confirmed by a 87-9 vote on July 29, 1994.

* Ruth Bader Ginsburg, nominated by Clinton, was confirmed by a 96-3 vote on August 3, 1993.

* Clarence Thomas, nominated by Republican President George H.W. Bush, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote on October 15, 1991.

* Anthony Kennedy, nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, was confirmed by a 97-0 vote on February 3, 1988.

* Antonin Scalia, nominated by Reagan, was confirmed by a 98-0 vote on September 17, 1986.

(Writing by Thomas Ferraro and James Vicini ; editing by David Alexander and Cynthia Osterman)
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Comments (3)
edword wrote:
May those five RINOS hang for this.

Aug 05, 2010 9:10pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Peteo wrote:
Of all the damage this most damaging of all Presidents has done to this country, this may be the worst.

Aug 05, 2010 9:56pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Scottie5356 wrote:
I simply cannot get over the crude and uninformed nature of the blog posts individuals make on this news site in regard to someone just starting on the job! I try to read a variety of sources to be a well informed citizen- it is astoundingly clear to me that there are many Americans that should be thankful for the 14th Amendment banning discrimination and guaranteeing the right to vote, because quite frankly, while I am NOT discriminant toward blacks and minorities, I most certainly AM prejudice- I’m prejudice toward the right wing radical Palin sycophants that incessantly post on the Reuters website. It actually starts to make Fox News look liberal. Guys- get a clue, and realize this country is not red or blue- it’s purple- if you don’t like it, move to Texas and secede with the rest of the Tea Party crazies- maybe Mexico will take you all back- if you’re LUCKY!

Aug 07, 2010 4:25pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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