| Year | Pres. | House | Senate | Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | R | R | R | |||
| 1904 | R | R | R | |||
| 1908 | R | R | R | |||
| 1912 | R | D | R | |||
| 1916 | D | D | D | Justice Brandeis joins Supreme Court |
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| 1920 | D | R | R | |||
| 1924 | R | R | R | |||
| 1928 | R | R | R | |||
| 1932 | R | R | R | |||
| 1936 | D | D | D | |||
| 1937 | D | D | D | FDR proposes to enlarge to the SC Court |
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| 1940 | D | D | D | |||
| 1944 | D | D | D | |||
| 1948 | D | R | R | |||
| 1952 | D | D | D | |||
| 1953 | R | R | R | Earl Warren becomes Chief Justice |
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| 1956 | R | D | D | |||
| 1960 | R | D | D | Needed federal judgeships, appointed on the basis of the highest qualifications and without limitation to a single political party, should be created to expedite administration of justice in federal courts. | ||
| 1964 | D | D | D | |||
| 1967 | D | D | D | Thurgood Marshall joins Supreme Court |
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| 1968 | D | D | D | Public confidence in an independent judiciary is absolutely essential to the maintenance of law and order. We advocate application of the highest standards in making appointments to the courts, and we pledge a determined effort to rebuild and enhance public respect for the Supreme Court and all other courts in the United States. | ||
| 1972 | R | D | D | |||
| 1976 | R | D | D | All diplomats, federal judges and other major officials should be selected on a basis of qualifications. At all levels of government services, we will recruit, appoint and promote women and minorities. | ||
| 1980 | D | D | D | We will work for the appointment of judges at all levels of the judiciary who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. | ||
| 1981 | R | D | R | Sandra Day O’Connor first female Supreme Court Justice |
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| 1984 | R | D | R | There can be little doubt that a Supreme Court chosen by Ronald Reagan would radically restrict constitutional rights and drastically reinterpret existing laws. Today, the fundamental right of a woman to reproductive freedom rests on the votes of six members of the Supreme Court—five of whom are over 75. . . Our judicial system must be one in which excellence and access are the foundations. It is essential to recruit people of high integrity, outstanding competence, and high quality of judgment to serve in our nation’s judiciary. And we oppose efforts to strip the federal courts of their historic jurisdiction to adjudicate cases involving questions of federal law and constitutional | We commend the President for appointing federal judges committed to the rights of law- abiding citizens and traditional family values. We share the public’s dissatisfaction with an elitist and unresponsive federal judiciary. If our legal institutions are to regain respect, they must respect the people’s legitimate interests in a stable, orderly society. In his second term, President Reagan will continue to appoint Supreme Court and other federal judges who share our commitment to judicial restraint. . . We applaud President Reagan’s fine record of judicial appointments, and we reaffirm our support for the appointment of judges at all levels of the judiciary who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent | |
| 1987 | R | D | D | Judge Bork nomination fails | ||
| 1988 | R | D | D | We applaud President Reagan’s fine record of judicial appointments, and we reaffirm our support for the appointment of judges at all levels of the judiciary who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. | Anthony Kennedy appointed to SC | |
| 1990 | R | D | D | Justice Souter appointed to SC |
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| 1991 | R | D | D | Clarence Thomas to SC | ||
| 1992 | R | D | D | |||
| 1996 | D | R | R | For more than half a century, that solemn compact has been scorned by liberal Democrats and the judicial activism of the judges they have appointed. We will restore the force of the Tenth Amendment and, in the process, renew the trust and respect which hold together a free society. . . A Republican president will ensure that a process is established to select for the federal judiciary nominees who understand that their task is first and foremost to be faithful to the Constitution and to the intent of those who framed it. . . We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. | ||
| 2000 | R | R | R | Democrats oppose efforts to strip the federal courts of jurisdiction to decide critical issues affecting workers, immigrants, veterans and others of access to justice. And, unlike Republicans, Al Gore will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who have a demonstrated concern for and commitment to the individual rights protected by our Constitution, including the right to privacy. | We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. . . Governor Bush is determined to name only judges who have demonstrated respect for the Constitution and the processes of our republic. . . Many judges disregard the safety, values, and freedom of law- abiding citizens. At the expense of our children and families, they make up laws, invent new rights, free vicious criminals, and pamper felons in prison. They have arbitrarily overturned state laws enacted by citizen referenda, utterly disregarding the right of the people and the democratic process. . . We applaud Governor Bush’s pledge to name only judges who have demonstrated that they share his conservative beliefs and respect the Constitution. | |
| 2004 | R | R | R | We support the appointment of judges who will uphold our laws and constitutional rights, not their own narrow agendas. | President Bush has established a solid record of nominating only judges who have demonstrated respect for the Constitution and the democratic processes of our republic, and Republicans in the Senate have strongly supported those nominees. We call upon obstructionist Democrats in the Senate to abandon their unprecedented and highly irresponsible filibuster of President Bush’s highly qualified judicial nominees, and to allow the Republican Party to restore respect for the law to America’s courts. . . Additionally, we condemn judicial activists and their unwarranted and unconstitutional restrictions on the free exercise of religion in the public square. | |
| 2005 | R | R | R | John Roberts nominated as Chief Justice/Samuel Alito nominated to SC |
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| 2008 | R | D | D | For our Judiciary, we will select and confirm judges who are men and women of unquestionable talent and character, who firmly respect the rule of law, who listen to and are respectful of different points of view, and who represent the diversity of America. We support the appointment of judges who respect our system of checks and balances and the separation of power among the Executive Branch, Congress, and the Judiciary–and who understand that the Constitution protects not only the powerful, but also the disadvantaged and the powerless. | Republicans will insist on the appointment of constitutionalist judges, men and women who will not distort our founding documents to deny the people’s right to self-government, sanction federal powers that violate our liberties, or inject foreign law into American jurisprudence. . . We reject the Democrats’ view that judicial nominees should guarantee particular results even before the case is filed. Judges should not be politicians. Jurists nominated by a Republican president will be thoughtful and open-minded, always prepared to view past error in light of stare decisis, including judicial fiats that disenfranchised the American people. . . Judicial activism is a grave threat to the rule of law because unaccountable federal judges are usurping democracy, ignoring the Constitution and its separation of powers, and imposing their personal opinions upon the public. This must stop. . . We support the right of students to engage in student-initiated, student-led prayer in public schools, athletic events, and graduation ceremonies, when done in conformity with constitutional standards. | |
| 2009 | D | D | D | Sonia Sotomayer becomes a Justice |
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| 2010 | D | D | D | Elena Kagan sworn onto SC | ||
| 2012 | D | R | D | Moving forward, we will continue to nominate and confirm judges who are men and women of unquestionable talent and character and will always demonstrate their faithfulness to our law and our Constitution and bring with them a sense of how American society works and how the American people live. | Judicial activism which includes reliance on foreign law or unratified treaties undermines American law. The sole solution, apart from impeachment, is the appointment of constitutionalist jurists, who will interpret the law as it was originally intended rather than make it. | |
| 2016 | D | R | R | We will appoint judges who defend the constitutional principles of liberty and equality for all, and will protect a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion, curb billionaires’ influence over elections because they understand that Citizens United has fundamentally damaged our democracy, and believe the Constitution protects not only the powerful, but also the disadvantaged and powerless. | Only a Republican president will appoint judges who respect the rule of law expressed within the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, including the inalienable right to life and the laws of nature and nature’s God, as did the late Justice Antonin Scalia. . . In tandem with a Republican Senate, a new Republican president will restore to the Court a strong conservative majority that will follow the text and original meaning of the Constitution and our laws. . . We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. | Justice Scalia dies |
| 2017 | R | R | R | Gorsuch fills Scalia’s seat | ||
| 2018 | R | R | R | Kavanaugh becomes Justice replacing Kennedy |
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| 2020 | R | D | R | Democrats will appoint people to the bench who are committed to seeing justice be served, and treating each case on its merits. We will nominate and confirm federal judges who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, including as public defenders, legal aid attorneys, and civil rights lawyers. | Amy Coney Barrett replaces RBG | |
| 2024 | D | R | D | President Biden will continue to appoint justices and judges across the federal bench who are like Justice Jackson: brilliant jurists committed to defending American rights and freedoms. . . In President Biden’s second term, he will continue selecting judges who will protect fundamental rights and who represent the diversity of the American experience. We will push for a Supreme Court that follows the rule of law, protects people’s freedoms, and abides by the highest ethical standards. |