Congressional Documents: Pres.Appointments

"Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the President of the United States the power to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint individuals to certain positions laid out in the Constitution and in subsequent laws." congress.gov

Relevant CRS Reports (via guide on Congressional Documents):

• Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations.
• Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments.
• Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Independent and Other Agencies.
• Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions on Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions.
• Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee

For more on procedures, see Congressional procedure: a practical guide to the legislative process in the U.S. Congress, Richard A. Arenberg, 2018, 141-145. (Bowdoin Main Libr KF4937 .A974 2018 (print))

Nominations

• Nominations, congress.gov, 1981-present. Filter by Congress, Committee, Status, and more.
• Nominations, U.S. Senate

Positions

• United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book) (via govinfo)

• Executive department website (via usa.gov)
• Joe Biden has picked [xxx] nominees to fill key roles in his administration so far, Washington Post
• The nominees Donald Trump tapped for key roles during his term, as of 2021, Washington Post

Committee Hearings

Use ProQuest Congressional (or another source of hearings) to search for confirmation/nomination hearings, of any. Limit to hearings and to the time period of interest for e.g. secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security:
(confirmation OR nomination) AND secretary AND ("homeland security" OR DHS)

Supreme Court nominee questionnaires

The Senate Judiciary Committee asks Supreme Court nominees to fill out questionnaires. To find the filled-out questionnaires, try:

• Nominee questionnaires from the Committee on the Judiciary Library, 2009-present. Also try the archived Senate Judiciary Committee websites via Congressional Web Harvest, beginning 2009.
• Questionnaires may be included in the nominee's published nomination hearing. Look for them in databases containing hearings.
• Check with The Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration. Questionnaires held by NARA are closed for 50 years.
• The presidential library (of the president who made the nomination) may have copies of questionnaires.

For background, see Questioning Judicial Nominees: Legal Limitations and Practice, Congressional Research Service, R45300, updated March 17, 2022.

Committee Reports

The Senate committee of jurisdiction may report back to the full Senate. (The report is infrequently published.) Search for Senate Executive Reports in databases containing Senate committee reports or the Serial Set.

Consideration on the floor of the Senate

Nominees may be considered in Senate Executive Session. If so, any debate or vote can be found in the Congressional Record.