Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination

Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination
President Ronald Reagan announces from the White House Press Room Bork's nomination on July 1, 1987
Nominee	Robert Bork
Nominated by	Ronald Reagan (President of the United States)
Succeeding	Lewis F. Powell Jr. (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)
Date nominated	July 1, 1987
Date rejected	October 23, 1987
Outcome	Rejected by the U.S. Senate
Senate Judiciary Committee motion to report favorably
Votes in favor	5
Votes against	9
Result	Rejected
Senate Judiciary Committee motion to report unfavorably
Votes in favor	9
Votes against	5
Result	Approved
Senate confirmation vote
Votes in favor	42
Votes against	58
Result	Rejected

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On July 1, 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Robert Bork for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to succeed Lewis F. Powell Jr., who had earlier announced his retirement. At the time of his nomination, Bork was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position to which he had been appointed by President Reagan in 1982.

Bork's nomination precipitated contentious debate. Opposition to his nomination centered on his perceived willingness to roll back the civil rights rulings of the Warren and Burger courts, and his role in the Saturday Night Massacre during the Watergate scandal. On October 23, 1987, the United States Senate rejected Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court by a roll-call vote of 42–58. This is the most recent Supreme Court nomination to be rejected by vote of the Senate.^[1]

Reagan subsequently announced his intention to nominate Douglas H. Ginsburg to succeed Powell, but Ginsburg withdrew from consideration following revelations of his earlier marijuana use. Instead, Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy, who was viewed as a mainstream conservative Republican. Kennedy was unanimously confirmed in February 1988.^[2]