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Legislative power

Confirm appointments & ratify treaties

The President proposes, the Senate disposes. No principal officer, ambassador, or federal judge takes office without Senate confirmation, and no treaty binds the nation without two-thirds of senators present consenting.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2

Read the clause itself, verbatim and in plain language, in the in-app Constitution.

Held by

The Senate, exclusively

U.S. Senator

How it works in practice

Nominations go to the committee of jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) for hearings, then to the floor; since the 2013 and 2017 rules changes, a majorityMore than half. A plurality is only the largest share, which can be far less than half when more than two candidates run.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) confirms. Treaties face the steeper supermajorityAny threshold above half: three-fifths for Senate cloture, two-thirds to override a veto or convict on impeachment, three-fourths of states to ratify an amendment.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) bar, which is why modern practice leans on executive agreements and congressional-executive agreements instead. The Senate's power to not act, leaving nominations and treaties in limbo, is itself the check.

The answering checks
The PresidentChooses every nominationThe President's formal proposal of a person for an office that requires Senate confirmation. The nominee holds no authority until confirmed and sworn in.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), may make temporary recess appointments, and can bypass the treatyA binding international agreement the President negotiates and the Senate approves by two-thirds. Once ratified, it is part of the supreme law of the land.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) process with executive agreements (which the next President can undo).
The votersadvice and consentThe Senate's shared role in appointments and treaties: nominations need a Senate majority; treaties need two-thirds.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) votes are recorded roll calls senators must defend.
See it in the app
Source

U.S. Senate, About Nominations

Terms to know: advice and consentThe Senate's shared role in appointments and treaties: nominations need a Senate majority; treaties need two-thirds.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) · recess appointmentA temporary appointment the President can make without Senate confirmation while the Senate is in recess; it expires at the end of the next session.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) · clotureThe Senate's only procedure for ending debate over objection. Most legislation needs 60 votes; nominations need a simple majority.Read the full definition (opens a new tab)

Plain-language civic education, not legal advice. The live boundaries of this power are set case by case; the sources above and the constitutional text control.