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:
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.
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 8, 2025 | National | PN 25-18 | Nomination of Peter Hoekstra to be Ambassador to Canada | Cloture Invoked - Senate (60 - 37) |
| April 8, 2025 | National | PN 25-6 | Nomination of Kevin Cabrera to be Ambassador to the Republic of Panama | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 42) |
| April 8, 2025 | National | PN 25-20 | Nomination of Mike Huckabee to be Ambassador to the State of Israel | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 46) |
| April 8, 2025 | National | PN 25-14 | Nomination of George Glass to be Ambassador of the United States of America to Japan | Cloture Invoked - Senate (67 - 32) |
| April 7, 2025 | National | PN 12-9 | Nomination of Elbridge Colby to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 39) |
| April 7, 2025 | National | HR 1039 | Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act | Bill Passed - House (412 - 0) |
| April 2, 2025 | National | S J Res 37 | A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Canada. | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (51 - 48) |
| April 2, 2025 | National | S J Res 37 | A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Canada. | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (51 - 48) |
| April 1, 2025 | National | PN 25-56 | Nomination of Matthew Whitaker to be United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (52 - 45) |
| April 1, 2025 | National | HR 1491 | Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act | Bill Passed - House (423 - 0) |
| March 31, 2025 | National | PN 25-56 | Nomination of Matthew Whitaker to be United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, | Cloture Invoked - Senate (49 - 42) |
| March 31, 2025 | National | HR 517 | Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act | Bill Passed - House (388 - 0) |
| March 24, 2025 | National | PN 12-36 | Nomination of John Phelan to be Secretary of the Navy | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (62 - 30) |
| March 24, 2025 | National | PN 12-25 | Nomination of Christopher Landau to be Deputy Secretary of State | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (60 - 31) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | PN 12-16 | Nomination of Stephen Feinberg to be Deputy Secretary of Defense | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (59 - 40) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | PN 12-25 | Nomination of Christopher Landau to be Deputy Secretary of State | Cloture Invoked - Senate (63 - 32) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | PN 12-16 | Nomination of Stephen Feinberg to be Deputy Secretary of Defense | Cloture Invoked - Senate (56 - 39) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | PN 12-36 | Nomination of John Phelan to be Secretary of the Navy | Cloture Invoked - Senate (64 - 33) |
| March 10, 2025 | National | HR 993 | Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act | Bill Passed - House (406 - 9) |
| March 10, 2025 | National | HR 495 | Subterranean Border Defense Act | Bill Passed - House (402 - 1) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | PN 12-14 | Nomination of Troy Edgar to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 43) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | PN 12-14 | Nomination of Troy Edgar to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 43) |
| Feb. 26, 2025 | National | PN 11-17 | Nomination of Jamieson Greer to be U.S. Trade Representative | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (56 - 43) |
| Feb. 26, 2025 | National | S J Res 10 | A joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared with respect to energy. | Joint Resolution Failed - Senate (47 - 52) |
| Feb. 25, 2025 | National | PN 12-12 | Nomination of Daniel Driscoll to be Secretary of the Army | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (66 - 28) |
| Feb. 25, 2025 | National | HR 804 | Rural Small Business Resilience Act | Bill Passed - House (415 - 8) |
| Feb. 24, 2025 | National | PN 12-12 | Nomination of Daniel Driscoll to be Secretary of the Army | Cloture Invoked - Senate (66 - 28) |
| Feb. 20, 2025 | National | PN 12-35 | Nomination of Kashyap Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 49) |
| Feb. 20, 2025 | National | PN 12-35 | Nomination of Kashyap Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 49) |
| Feb. 20, 2025 | National | PN 12-35 | Nomination of Kashyap Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 47) |
| Feb. 20, 2025 | National | PN 12-35 | Nomination of Kashyap Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 47) |
| Feb. 18, 2025 | National | PN 12-35 | Nomination of Kashyap Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations | Motion Agreed - Senate (48 - 45) |
| Feb. 18, 2025 | National | PN 12-35 | Nomination of Kashyap Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations | Motion Agreed - Senate (48 - 45) |
| Feb. 13, 2025 | National | HR 35 | Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act | Bill Passed - House (264 - 155) |
| Feb. 12, 2025 | National | PN 11-16 | Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (52 - 48) |
| Feb. 10, 2025 | National | PN 11-16 | Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 46) |
| Feb. 10, 2025 | National | HR 692 | China Exchange Rate Transparency Act | Bill Passed - House (388 - 7) |
| Feb. 6, 2025 | National | PN 11-16 | Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence | Motion Agreed - Senate (52 - 46) |
| Feb. 4, 2025 | National | PN 11-2 | Nomination of Pamela Bondi to be Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| Feb. 3, 2025 | National | PN 11-2 | Nomination of Pamela Bondi to be Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 46) |
| Jan. 28, 2025 | National | HR 23 | Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (54 - 45) |
| Jan. 28, 2025 | National | HR 23 | Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (54 - 45) |
| Jan. 25, 2025 | National | PN 11-11 | Nomination of Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (59 - 34) |
| Jan. 24, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (50 - 50) |
| Jan. 24, 2025 | National | PN 11-11 | Nomination of Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (61 - 39) |
| Jan. 23, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (74 - 25) |
| Jan. 23, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Cloture Invoked - Senate (72 - 26) |
| Jan. 23, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 49) |
| Jan. 22, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - House (263 - 156) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Motion Agreed - Senate (54 - 46) |