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.
Read the clause itself, verbatim and in plain language, in the in-app Constitution.
The Senate, exclusively
Nominations go to the committee of jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Full definition in the glossary for hearings, then to the floor; since the 2013 and 2017 rules changes, a simple majority confirms. Treaties face the steeper two-thirds 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.
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.Full definition in the glossary · 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.Full definition in the glossary · clotureThe Senate's only procedure for ending debate over objection. Most legislation needs 60 votes; nominations need a simple majority.Full definition in the glossary
