how many senators have to approve supreme court nominee
Appointment and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States Once the Committee reports out the nomination, the whole Senate considers it. A simple majority vote is required to confirm or to reject a nominee. Prior to 2017, a successful filibuster threat could add the requirement of a supermajority of 60 needed in favor of cloture, which would allow debate to end and force a final vote on confirmation. Rejections are relatively uncommon; the Senate has explicitly rejected twelve Supreme Court nominees in its history. The most recent rejection of a nominee by vote of the full Senate came in 1987, when the Senate refused to confirm Robert Bork.
Nuclear option Before November 2013, Senate rules required a three-fifths vote of the "duly chosen and sworn" members of the Senate (usually 60 votes) to end debate on a bill, nomination or other proposal; they also require a two-thirds vote ("present and voting" â€“ 67 or more votes) to end debate on a change to the Senate rules. Those rules effectively allowed a minority of the Senate to block a bill or nomination through the technique of the filibuster. This had resulted in a de facto requirement that a nomination have the support of 60 Senators to pass, rather than a majority of 51. A three-fifths majority vote is still required to end debates on legislation.[4] Before April 2017, Senate rules required a three-fifths vote to confirm nominations for Supreme Court nominees.