Key Votes
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About the Selection and Descriptions of Key Votes
Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
- The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
- The vote should be clear for any person to understand
- The vote has received media attention
- The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
- Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
results per page:
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 18, 2025 | National | PN 373 | Nomination of Sara Bailey to be Director of National Drug Control Policy | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 42) |
| Oct. 29, 2025 | National | S J Res 69 | A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service relating to "Record of Decision for the Barred Owl Management Strategy; Washington, Oregon, and California" | Motion Rejected - Senate (25 - 72) |
| Aug. 2, 2025 | National | PN 26-5 | Nomination of Brian Burch to be Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican City) | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (49 - 44) |
| Aug. 2, 2025 | National | PN 26-5 | Nomination of Brian Burch to be Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican City) | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 45) |
| Aug. 1, 2025 | National | PN 25-35 | Nomination of Brian Nesvik to be Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (54 - 43) |
| July 31, 2025 | National | PN 26-42 | Nomination of Gadyaces Serralta to be Director of the United States Marshals Service | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (59 - 39) |
| July 30, 2025 | National | PN 129-4 | Nomination of Thomas Gaiser to be an Assistant Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 45) |
| July 30, 2025 | National | PN 26-42 | Nomination of Gadyaces Serralta to be Director of the United States Marshals Service | Cloture Invoked - Senate (59 - 38) |
| July 30, 2025 | National | PN 129-4 | Nomination of Thomas Gaiser to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 47) |
| July 22, 2025 | National | PN 26-11 | Nomination of Terrance Cole to be Administrator of Drug Enforcement | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (50 - 47) |
| July 21, 2025 | National | PN 26-11 | Nomination of Terrance Cole to be Administrator of Drug Enforcement | Cloture Invoked - Senate (44 - 43) |
| July 15, 2025 | National | PN 26-15 | Nomination of Joseph Edlow to be Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (52 - 47) |
| July 15, 2025 | National | PN 26-15 | Nomination of Joseph Edlow to be Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (50 - 46) |
| June 18, 2025 | National | PN 12-40 | Nomination of Rodney Scott to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 46) |
| June 18, 2025 | National | PN 12-40 | Nomination of Rodney Scott to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (50 - 46) |
| June 5, 2025 | National | PN 26-43 | Nomination of Brett Shumate to be an Assistant Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 41) |
| June 5, 2025 | National | PN 26-16 | Nomination of John Andrew Eisenberg to be an Assistant Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (52 - 43) |
| June 5, 2025 | National | PN 26-43 | Nomination of Brett Shumate to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (49 - 40) |
| June 5, 2025 | National | PN 26-16 | Nomination of John Andrew Eisenberg to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 43) |
| April 2, 2025 | National | PN 12-11 | Nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 45) |
| March 26, 2025 | National | PN 12-37 | Nomination of Aaron Reitz to be an Assistant Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (52 - 46) |
| March 26, 2025 | National | PN 12-37 | Nomination of Aaron Reitz to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 45) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | S 331 | Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act (HALT Fentanyl Act) | Bill Passed - Senate (84 - 15) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | S 331 | Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act (HALT Fentanyl Act) | Bill Passed - Senate (84 - 15) |
| March 11, 2025 | National | PN 12-41 | Nomination of Abigail Slater to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (77 - 19) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | S 331 | Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act (HALT Fentanyl Act) | Cloture Invoked - Senate (82 - 12) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | S 331 | Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act (HALT Fentanyl Act) | Cloture Invoked - Senate (82 - 12) |
| March 5, 2025 | National | PN 12-5 | Nomination of Todd Blanche to be Deputy Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 46) |
| March 3, 2025 | National | S 9 | Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 45) |
| Jan. 22, 2025 | National | S 6 | Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 35) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 35) |
| Jan. 17, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (61 - 35) |
| Jan. 17, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (61 - 35) |
| Jan. 13, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Motion Agreed - Senate (82 - 10) |
| Jan. 13, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Motion Agreed - Senate (82 - 10) |
| Jan. 8, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (84 - 9) |
| Jan. 8, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (84 - 9) |