Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Tie-breaking votes cast by vice presidents in the Senate

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution, the vice president of the United States also serves as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, he or she may cast the deciding vote when there is a tie in the Senate.

John Adams cast the first tie-breaking vote on July 18, 1789. As of July 15, 2025, there were 308 tie-breaking votes from 38 vice presidents. Kamala Harris (D) (2021-2025) cast the most tie-breaking votes (33) during her tenure as vice president, John C. Calhoun (1825 - 1832) cast the second most (31), and Adams (1789 - 1797) cast the third most (29).

Twelve vice presidents, including Joe Biden and Dan Quayle, never cast a tie-breaking vote during their time in office.[1]

Tie-breaking votes under the second Trump administration

See also: Tie-breaking votes cast by J.D. Vance in the U.S. Senate

Vice President J.D. Vance (R) has cast seven tie-breaking vote in the Senate:

  • July 15, 2025:
    • The Senate voted 50-50 on a motion to proceed on H.R. 4 - Rescissions Act of 2025. Vance broke the tie in favor of the motion.[2]
    • The Senate voted 50-50 on a motion to discharge H.R. 4 - Rescissions Act of 2025. Vance broke the tie in favor of the motion.[2]
  • July 1, 2025:
  • April 30, 2025: The Senate voted 49-49 to table a joint resolution to terminate the national emergency related to global tariffs. Vance broke the tie in favor of tabling the resolution.[4]
  • January 24, 2025: The Senate voted 50-50 on the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be secretary of Defense. Vance broke the tie to confirm Hegseth as the secretary.[5]


Tie-breaking votes under the Biden administration

See also: Tie-breaking votes cast by Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate

Vice President Kamala Harris (D) cast 33 tie-breaking votes in the Senate:

  • December 5, 2023:
    • The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Loren AliKhan to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia. Harris broke the tie to invoke cloture. This was Harris' 32nd tie-breaking vote, the most tie-breaking votes ever cast by a vice president.[6]
    • The Senate voted 50-50 on the nomination of Loren AliKhan to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia. Harris broke the tie to confirm the nomination.[7]
  • July 12, 2023: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Harris broke the tie to invoke cloture.[8]
  • June 21, 2023: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Natasha Merle to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Harris broke the tie to invoke cloture.[9]
  • March 1, 2023: The Senate voted 48-48 on the nomination of Margaret R. Guzman to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts. Harris broke the tie to approve the nomination.[10]
  • February 28, 2023:
  • August 7, 2022:
  • August 6, 2022: The Senate voted 50-50 on a motion to proceed with debate on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Harris broke the tie to affirm the motion.[14]
  • May 12, 2022: The Senate voted 50-50 to discharge the nomination of Mary T. Boyle to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[15]
  • May 11, 2022:
    • The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on and to confirm Alvaro M. Bedoya to be a Federal Trade Commissioner. Harris broke the tie to support the motion and cast a second tie-breaking vote to confirm Bedoya.[16][17]
    • The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on and to confirm Julia Ruth Gordon to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Harris broke the tie to support the motion and cast a second tie-breaking vote to confirm Gordon.[18][19]
  • May 10, 2022: The Senate voted 50-50 to confirm Lisa Cook to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Harris broke the tie to support the confirmation.[20]
  • April 5, 2022: The Senate voted 50-50 to discharge the nomination of Julia Ruth Gordon to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[21]
  • March 30, 2022: The Senate voted 50-50 to discharge the nomination of Alvaro M. Bedoya to be a Federal Trade Commissioner from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[22]
  • December 8, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on and to confirm the nomination of Rachel S. Rollins for U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Harris broke the tie to support the motion and cast a second tie-breaking vote to confirm Rollins.[23][24]
  • November 17, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 invoke cloture on the nomination of Brain Eddie Nelson for Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[25]
  • November 3, 2021: The Senate voted 49-49 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Jennifer Sung to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[26]
  • October 20, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on and to confirm the nomination of Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon for assistant secretary for civil rights of the Department of Education. Harris broke the tie to support the motion and cast a second tie-breaking vote to confirm Lhamon.[27]
  • September 30, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Rohit Chopra for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[28]
  • July 21, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to confirm Jennifer Abruzzo as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Harris broke the tie to confirm Abruzzo.[29]
  • July 20, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Jennifer Abruzzo for general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[30]
  • June 22, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to confirm Kiran Ahuja as director of the Office of Personnel Management. Harris broke the tie to confirm Ahuja.[31]
  • June 22, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to invoke cloture on the nomination of Kiran Ahuja for director of the Office of Personnel Management. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[31]
  • April 21, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 on a motion to discharge the nomination of Colin Kahl for under secretary of defense for policy. Harris broke the tie to support the motion.[32]
  • March 4, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 on a motion to proceed with debate on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Harris broke the tie to affirm the motion.[33]
  • February 5, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to adopt a budget resolution relating to COVID-19 economic relief. Harris broke the tie to adopt the resolution.[34]
  • February 5, 2021: The Senate voted 50-50 to adopt an amendment proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer on the budget resolution. Harris broke the tie to adopt the amendment.[35]

Tie-breaking votes under the first Trump administration

See also: Tie-breaking votes cast by Mike Pence in the U.S. Senate
Beyond the Headlines - Title Banner.png
How many tie-breaking votes has Mike Pence cast in the Senate? Click to watch
View other episodes here.

Vice President Mike Pence (R) cast 13 tie-breaking votes in the Senate:

  • December 21, 2018: The Senate voted 47-47 on whether to open discussion on the Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017. Pence broke the tie to open discussion on the act.[36]
  • February 28, 2018: The Senate voted 49-49 on Russell Vought's nomination to be the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Pence broke the tie to confirm Vought.[40]
  • January 24, 2018: The Senate voted 49-49 to confirm Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's (R) nomination as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Pence broke the tie to confirm the nomination.[41]
    • January 24, 2018: Pence broke an initial 49-49 tie to end debate on Gov. Brownback's's (R) nomination.[42]
  • December 2, 2017: The Senate voted 50-50 on an amendment to allow the use of 529 savings accounts to pay for elementary and secondary school costs, including private-school tuition. Pence broke the tie.[43]
  • October 24, 2017: The Senate voted 50-50 on a joint resolution to nullify a rule submitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding arbitration agreements. Pence broke the tie. The CFPB’s rule would have prevented companies from including arbitration clauses in customer contracts that block customers from filing class-action lawsuits in the case of a dispute. It was set to go into effect in 2018.[44]
  • July 25, 2017: The Senate held a vote on a motion to proceed to the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA), the House-passed repeal and replace bill. The motion was approved 51-50. Pence voted in favor of the bill to break the 50-50 tie.[45]
  • March 30, 2017: The Senate voted to advance HJ Res 43—a measure allowing states to withhold federal funding for family planning from Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers that perform abortions. Under an Obama-era regulation, states could not exclude a healthcare provider from receiving Title X funding for family planning and related services, like cervical cancer screenings, because it also provided abortion services. Pence cast the tie-breaking vote on the procedural motion to revoke the rule.[46]
    • March 30, 2017: Pence then cast the tie-breaking vote on final vote to revoke the rule.[47]
  • February 7, 2017: Betsy DeVos was confirmed by the Senate as secretary of education by a vote of 51-50. It was the first time in history a vice president had broken a tie in a Cabinet nomination vote.[48]

Historical tie-breaking votes

Overview

The table below lists the number of tie-breaking votes cast by every vice president.[1][49][50]

Historical tie-breaking votes by vice presidents
Vice president Tie-breaking votes Years served Days in office Administration(s)
John Adams 29 1789 - 1797 2,874 George Washington
Thomas Jefferson 3 1797 - 1801 1,460 John Adams
Aaron Burr 3 1801 - 1805 1,461 Thomas Jefferson
George Clinton 14 1805 - 1812 2,604 Thomas Jefferson, James Madison
Elbridge Gerry 9 1813 - 1814 629 James Madison
Daniel D. Tompkins 6 1817 - 1825 2,922 James Monroe
John C. Calhoun 31 1825 - 1832 2,856 John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren 4 1833 - 1837 1,461 Andrew Jackson
Richard M. Johnson 14 1837 - 1841 1,461 Martin Van Buren
John Tyler 0 1841 31 William H. Harrison
George M. Dallas 19 1845 - 1849 1,461 James K. Polk
Millard Fillmore 3 1849 - 1850 492 Zachary Taylor
William R. King 0 1853 45 Franklin Pierce
John C. Breckinridge 10 1957 - 1861 1,461 James Buchanan
Hannibal Hamlin 7 1861 - 1865 1,461 Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson 0 1865 42 Abraham Lincoln
Schuyler Colfax 18 1869 - 1873 1,461 Ulysses S. Grant
Henry Wilson 1 1873 - 1875 993 Ulysses S. Grant
William A. Wheeler 6 1877 - 1881 1,461 Rutherford B. Hayes
Chester A. Arthur 3 1881 199 James A. Garfield
Thomas A. Hendricks 0 1885 266 Grover Cleveland
Levi P. Morton 4 1889 - 1893 1,461 Benjamin Harrison
Adlai E. Stevenson 2 1893 - 1897 1,461 Grover Cleveland
Garret A. Hobart 1 1897 - 1899 992 William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt 0 1901 194 William McKinley
Charles W. Fairbanks 0 1905 - 1909 1,461 Theodore Roosevelt
James S. Sherman 4 1909 - 1912 1,336 William H. Taft
Thomas R. Marshall 9 1913 - 1921 2,922 Woodrow Wilson
Calvin Coolidge 0 1921 - 1923 881 Warren G. Harding
Charles G. Dawes 2 1925 - 1929 1,461 Calvin Coolidge
Charles Curtis 3 1929 - 1933 1,461 Herbert C. Hoover
John N. Garner 3 1933 - 1941 2,879 Franklin Roosevelt
Henry A. Wallace 4 1941 - 1945 1,461 Franklin Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman 1 1945 82 Franklin Roosevelt
Alben W. Barkley 8 1949 - 1953 1,461 Harry S. Truman
Richard M. Nixon 8 1953 - 1961 2,922 Dwight Eisenhower
Lyndon B. Johnson 0 1961 - 1963 1,036 John Kennedy
Hubert H. Humphrey 4 1965 - 1969 1,461 Lyndon B. Johnson
Spiro T. Agnew 2 1969 - 1973 1,724 Richard Nixon
Gerald R. Ford 0 1973 - 1974 246 Richard Nixon
Nelson A. Rockefeller 0 1974 - 1977 763 Gerald R. Ford
Walter Mondale 1 1977 - 1981 1,461 Jimmy Carter
George H.W. Bush 7 1981 - 1989 2,922 Ronald Reagan
Dan Quayle 0 1989 - 1993 1,461 George H.W. Bush
Albert Gore 4 1993 - 2001 2,922 Bill Clinton
Richard B. Cheney 8 2001 - 2009 2,922 George W. Bush
Joe Biden 0 2009 - 2017 2,922 Barack Obama
Mike Pence 13 2017 - 2021 1,461 Donald Trump
Kamala Harris 33 2021 - 2025 1,461 Joe Biden
J.D. Vance 7 2025-present 231 Donald Trump

Comparison of tie-breaking votes cast by vice presidents, 1981-2025

The following chart compares the number of tie-breaking votes cast by each U.S. vice president after 1981.


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Senate.gov, "Occasions When Vice Presidents Have Voted to Break Tie Votes in the Senate," accessed March 30, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Congress.gov, "H.R.4 - Rescissions Act of 2025," accessed July 16, 2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Senate Press Gallery, "Tuesday, July 1, 2025," accessed July 1, 2025
  4. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 119th Congress - 1st Session," accessed May 7, 2025
  5. ↑ U.S. Senate Press Gallery, "Friday, January 24, 2025," January 24, 2025
  6. ↑ United States Senate Periodical Press Gallery, "TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023," December 5, 2023
  7. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 118th Congress - 1st Session," accessed December 5, 2023
  8. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 118th Congress - 1st Session," accessed July 13, 2023
  9. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 118th Congress - 1st Session," June 21, 2023
  10. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 118th Congress - 1st Session," March 1, 2023
  11. ↑ Congress.gov, "PN76 — Araceli Martinez-Olguin — The Judiciary," accessed March 1, 2023
  12. ↑ Congress.gov, "PN77 — Margaret R. Guzman — The Judiciary," accessed March 1, 2023
  13. ↑ United States Senate, "Votes to Break Ties in the Senate," accessed August 8, 2022
  14. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed August 6, 2022
  15. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed May 13, 2022
  16. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed May 13, 2022
  17. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed May 13, 2022
  18. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed May 13, 2022
  19. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed May 13, 2022
  20. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed May 10, 2022
  21. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed April 8, 2022
  22. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 2nd Session," accessed April 1, 2022
  23. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session," accessed December 9, 2021
  24. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session," accessed December 9, 2021
  25. ↑ Senate.gov, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session," accessed November 19, 2021
  26. ↑ U.S. Senate, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session," November 3, 2021
  27. ↑ Congress.gov, "PN572 — Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon — Department of Education," accessed October 20, 2021
  28. ↑ Congress.gov, "PN116 — Rohit Chopra — Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection," accessed October 1, 2021
  29. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Jennifer Ann Abruzzo, of New York, to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board)," July 21, 2021
  30. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jennifer Ann Abruzzo to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board)," July 20, 2021
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Congress.gov, "PN220 — Kiran Arjandas Ahuja — Office of Personnel Management," June 22, 2021
  32. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Discharge (Motion to Discharge Colin Hackett Kahl to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from the Committee on Armed Services)," April 21, 2021
  33. ↑ Senate.gov, " On the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Proceed to H.R. 1319)," March 4, 2021
  34. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Concurrent Resolution (S. Con. Res. 5, As Amended )," February 5, 2021
  35. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Schumer Amdt. No. 888 )," February 5, 2021
  36. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Proceed to the House Message to Accompany H.R. 695 )," December 21, 2018
  37. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Jonathan A. Kobes, of South Dakota, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit)," December 11, 2018
  38. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jonathan A. Kobes to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit)," November 29, 2018
  39. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Thomas Alvin Farr, of North Carolina, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina)," accessed November 28, 2018
  40. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Russell Vought, of Virginia, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget)," February 28, 2018
  41. ↑ The HIll, "Pence breaks tie to confirm Trump's pick for religious ambassador," January 24, 2018
  42. ↑ The HIll, "Pence breaks tie to confirm Trump's pick for religious ambassador," January 24, 2018
  43. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Cruz Amdt. No. 1852)," December 1, 2017
  44. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Joint Resolution (H. J. Res. 111)," October 24, 2017
  45. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Proceed to H.R. 1628)," July 25, 2017
  46. ↑ The New York Times, "Senate Lets States Defund Clinics That Perform Abortions," March 30, 2016
  47. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Joint Resolution (H.J. Res. 43)," March 30, 2017
  48. ↑ The New York Times, "Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie," February 7, 2017
  49. ↑ House.gov, "Presidents, Vice Presidents, & Coinciding Sessions of Congress," accessed March 30, 2017
  50. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Joe Biden Has 10 Days Left To Cast His First Tie-Breaking Vote," January 10, 2017
v • e
President Donald Trump's policies (first term)
OverviewsUS-WhiteHouse-Logo.svg
Domestic policy
Economic affairs and regulations
Foreign affairs and national security
Trump's second term overviews
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tie-breaking_votes_cast_by_vice_presidents_in_the_Senate&oldid=10445562"