Cabinet rejections few and far between
Senate has voted to reject a Cabinet nominee only 12 times, and three of these were the same man in one day.
The Senate has voted to reject a Cabinet nominee only 12 times, and three of these were the same man in one day.
In 1843, President Tyler was so infuriated by the Senate's refusal to confirm Rep. Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts Whig, as Treasury secretary that he submitted Cushing's name two more times, only to see the nomination defeated both times. The Senate went on to block three more Tyler nominees the following year.
Eighty years later, a nap cost President Coolidge his choice of attorney general. When Vice President Charles Dawes grew tired of the interrogation of nominee Charles Warren, he withdrew to the Willard Hotel for a nap.
While Dawes was gone, the Senate voted and with the vote tied 40-40, Republicans rushed to wake up the weary vice president. It was too late. One Democrat changed his vote, and Warren was rejected, 41-39.
Coolidge, like Tyler, was so incensed he renominated Warren two days later, but Warren was rejected again, this time 46-39.
| Nominee | Department | President | Vote (Yes/No) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Taney* | Treasury | Jackson, 1834 | 28-18 |
| Caleb Cushing | Treasury | Tyler, 1843 | 27-19; 27-10; 29-2 |
| David Henshaw* | Navy | Tyler, 1844 | 34-8 |
| James Porter | War | Tyler, 1844 | 38-3 |
| James Green | Treasury | Tyler, 1844 | Not recorded |
| Henry Stanberry** | Justice | Johnson, 1868 | 29-11 |
| Charles Warren | Justice | Coolidge, 1925 | 41-39; 46-39 |
| Lewis Strauss | Commerce | Eisenhower, 1959 | 49-46 |
| John Tower | Defense | Bush, 1989 | 53-47 |
*Candidate was a recess nomination and subsequently rejected by the Senate.
**Senate voted down Stanberry's renomination.
Source: U.S. Senate and CongressDaily research.