How many presidential nominations have been confirmed by the current Senate?
Refreshed annually
As of September 30, 2026, the Senate had confirmed 1,631 of the 2,277 nominations the president submitted since the term began in January 2025. That is a 71.6% confirmation rate. The 119th Congress runs through January 2027, so nominations still awaiting action are counted in the total.
2,277
presidential nominations submitted to the 119th Congress (as of September 30, 2026)
71.6%
of nominations submitted to the 119th Congress have been confirmed (as of September 30, 2026)
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution says the president shall appoint officers of the United States “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.” The Senate is therefore responsible for confirming — and holding hearings on — presidential nominations of federal judges, Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, agency heads, and military officers.
The 119th Congress has confirmed 1,631 nominations 20 months into its term. The previous Congress, the 118th, confirmed 1,896 across its full two-year term. Measured over the same 20-month stretch of each term, the current Senate has the ninth most confirmations of the 23 Senate terms since 1981, the earliest year recorded on congress.gov.
The current Senate has taken an average of 76.8 days to complete a confirmation. That is above the all-time average of 64.6 days across every session since the 97th Congress.
In its current term, the Senate has confirmed 71.6% of presidential nominees.
Presidential nominations received and confirmed by the Senate, by term, 97th to 119th Congress
At what rates does the current Senate confirm nominees?
The Senate has approved civilian nominees at a rate of 73.4% across all Congresses through the 119th, compared with 95.4% of military nominees.
Among civilian agencies in the 119th Congress:
- The Department of State has the most confirmed appointees, with 125 confirmed out of 196 nominees, a rate of 63.8%.
- The Department of Justice follows with 79 confirmed out of 131 nominations, a 60.3% confirmation rate.
- The Department of Energy has the highest confirmation rate at 95%, confirming 19 out of its 20 nominees.
Among military branches in the 119th Congress:
- The Navy has received the most military nominations, with 349 confirmed out of 452 nominees, a confirmation rate of 77.2%.
- The Army follows with 271 confirmed out of 361 nominations, a rate of 75.1%.
- The Marine Corps has the highest confirmation rate of any branch at 83.2%, confirming 104 out of its 125 nominees.
Navy and Army have the largest confirmation gaps
Nominated and confirmed, by organization, 119th Congress (organizations with at least 10 nominations, as of September 30, 2026)
How do judiciary nominations compare to departmental nominations?
The Senate has confirmed 69 of the 97 federal judicial nominations received in the 119th Congress, a confirmation rate of 71.1%. Judicial nominees serve as federal judges across district courts and circuit courts of appeals. The all-time average judiciary confirmation rate is 69.5% across all 23 Congresses since 1981, placing the 119th Congress above the long-run average with three months remaining in the session.
Judicial confirmation rates have varied by presidential administration. The highest rate since 1981 came in President Ronald Reagan’s second term (1985 to 1989), at 86.2%. The lowest came in President Barack Obama’s second term (2013 to 2017), at 52.5%.
Judiciary approval rates have fallen since the Reagan, 2nd term peak of 86.2%
Judiciary nomination confirmation rates from 1981 to 2026 by presidential term
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.