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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 27, 2025 | National | PN 13-9 | Nomination of Paul Lawrence to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 45) |
| March 27, 2025 | National | PN 13-9 | Nomination of Paul Lawrence to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 47) |
| March 27, 2025 | National | HR 1048 | Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act | Bill Passed - House (241 - 169) |
| March 26, 2025 | National | PN 12-15 | Nomination of Michael Faulkender to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 43) |
| 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 12-15 | Nomination of Michael Faulkender to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury | Cloture Invoked - 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 25, 2025 | National | PN 12-28 | Nomination of Martin Makary to be Commissioner of Food and Drugs in the Department of Health and Human Services | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (56 - 44) |
| March 25, 2025 | National | PN 13-8 | Nomination of Michael Kratsios to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (74 - 25) |
| March 25, 2025 | National | PN 12-2 | Nomination of Jayanta Bhattacharya to be Director of the National Institutes of Health | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 47) |
| March 25, 2025 | National | PN 12-28 | Nomination of Martin Makary to be Commissioner of Food and Drugs in the Department of Health and Human Services | Cloture Invoked - Senate (56 - 44) |
| March 25, 2025 | National | PN 13-8 | Nomination of Michael Kratsios to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy | Cloture Invoked - Senate (73 - 25) |
| March 25, 2025 | National | PN 12-2 | Nomination of Jayanta Bhattacharya to be Director of the National Institutes of Health | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 46) |
| March 25, 2025 | National | PN 12-3 | Nomination of James Bishop to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
| 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 24, 2025 | National | HR 359 | Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2025 | Bill Passed - House (405 - 0) |
| 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 | HR 1968 | Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 | Bill Passed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| March 14, 2025 | National | PN 12-36 | Nomination of John Phelan to be Secretary of the Navy | Cloture Invoked - Senate (64 - 33) |
| 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 12-25 | Nomination of Christopher Landau to be Deputy Secretary of State | Cloture Invoked - Senate (63 - 32) |
| March 13, 2025 | National | PN 22-12 | Nomination of Jeffrey Kessler to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (54 - 45) |
| March 13, 2025 | National | PN 13-12 | Nomination of William Pulte to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (56 - 43) |
| March 13, 2025 | National | PN 13-12 | Nomination of William Pulte to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency | Cloture Invoked - Senate (57 - 41) |
| March 13, 2025 | National | PN 22-12 | Nomination of Jeffrey Kessler to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (54 - 45) |
| March 12, 2025 | National | PN 19 | Nomination of Stephen Miran to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 46) |
| March 12, 2025 | National | PN 12-42 | Nomination of Keith Sonderling to be Deputy Secretary of Labor | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 46) |
| March 12, 2025 | National | PN 12-42 | Nomination of Keith Sonderling to be Deputy Secretary of Labor | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 45) |
| March 12, 2025 | National | PN 19 | Nomination of Stephen Miran to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers | Cloture Invoked - Senate |
| March 11, 2025 | National | PN 13-2 | Nomination of Steven Bradbury to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 46) |
| March 11, 2025 | National | PN 13-2 | Nomination of Steven Bradbury to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 46) |
| March 11, 2025 | National | PN 12-41 | Nomination of Abigail Slater to be an Assistant Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (77 - 19) |
| March 11, 2025 | National | HR 1968 | Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 | Bill Passed - House (217 - 213) |
| March 10, 2025 | National | PN 11-4 | Nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be Secretary of Labor | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (67 - 32) |
| 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 | H Res 189 | Censuring Representative Al Green of Texas. | Resolution Passed - House (224 - 198) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | H Res 189 | Censuring Representative Al Green of Texas. | Resolution Passed - House (224 - 198) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | PN 11-4 | Nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be Secretary of Labor | Cloture Invoked - Senate (66 - 30) |
| March 6, 2025 | National | PN 12-14 | Nomination of Troy Edgar to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 43) |
| March 5, 2025 | National | PN 12-5 | Nomination of Todd Blanche to be Deputy Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 46) |
| March 5, 2025 | National | H Res 189 | Censuring Representative Al Green of Texas. | Resolution Not Tabled - House (209 - 211) |
| March 5, 2025 | National | H Res 189 | Censuring Representative Al Green of Texas. | Resolution Not Tabled - House (209 - 211) |
| March 3, 2025 | National | PN 11-10 | Nomination of Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (51 - 45) |
| March 3, 2025 | National | HR 758 | Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act | Bill Passed - House (402 - 16) |
| Feb. 27, 2025 | National | PN 11-10 | Nomination of Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 47) |
| Feb. 26, 2025 | National | PN 11-17 | Nomination of Jamieson Greer to be U.S. Trade Representative | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (56 - 43) |
| 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 | PN 11-10 | Nomination of Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education | Motion Agreed - Senate (51 - 47) |
| Feb. 25, 2025 | National | H Con Res 14 | Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034. | Joint Resolution Passed - House (217 - 215) |