110th Congress / Senate / 1st session / Vote 207

• Question: On the Cloture Motion
• Category: Cloture
• Vote description: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S.J.Res.14; A joint resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people.
• Vote type: 3/5 (Help)
  A three-fifths majority of those present and voting is required for approval or passage. Used in the Senate.
• Result: Rejected, 53-38, with 1 voting Present and 7 not voting.
• Date/time: June 11, 2007, 5:55 p.m.
• Republican majority opinion: No (Help)
  The position of more than 50 percent of voting Republicans. "None" means an equal split between "Yes" and "No."
• Democrat majority opinion: Yes (Help)
  The position of more than 50 percent of voting Democrats. "None" means an equal split between "Yes" and "No."

Key Vote Analysis

With this vote Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate sought to move forward on a measure that would have registered the Senate's official opposition to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose tenure was plagued by controversy.

The Washington Post reported that “Democrats fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to invoke cloture and begin the debate on a resolution condemning Gonzales.”

Seven Republicans distanced themselves from the Bush administration and refused to support the attorney general who had been a target of sharp criticism for five months.

Gonzales came under fire for his involvement in administration policies such as harsh interrogation policies, secret overseas prisons, and a domestic surveillance program. But his most controversial action was the firings of nine U.S. attorneys last year. The attorney general's critics claimed he fired the prosecutors for political reasons.

If passed, the resolution would have done nothing more than send a public rebuke to Bush and Gonzales. But enough Republicans were able oppose "cloture," effectively killing the measure.

As the Post reported, “Democrats were aware that victory on the vote was unlikely, but they claimed a symbolic triumph in getting more than a handful of Republicans to join the effort to publicly shame the attorney general.”

Gonzales, who initially claimed he would not step down amid the controversies, announced his resignation on August 27.

See other key votes in the 110th Congress

Vote totals