Vice President Kamala Harris breaks the tie-breaking vote record in the Senate.“Vice President Harris has shattered a record that stood for almost 200 years”.
Kamala Harris made history on December 5th when she broke the most ties in the Senate by a vice president.
Vice President Kamala Harris exercised her voting power to confirm Loren AliKhan as President Joe Biden’s nominee, making AliKhan the first South Asian woman judge on the federal district court in Washington.
Despite a narrow majority held by the Democrats in the Senate, the confirmation process for AliKhan was successful with a vote margin of 51-50. Using her role as Senate President, Harris cast the tie-breaking vote, a task bestowed upon the Vice President.
Republicans opposed AliKhan, citing her past positions as a District of Columbia government official, as they have done with many Biden judicial nominees. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, voted alongside Republicans, resulting in a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Harris.
Vice President Harris has shattered a record that stood for almost 200 years. She has now cast 33 tie-breaking votes in the Senate, surpassing the 31 votes cast by John Calhoun during his vice presidency from 1825 to 1832.
Harris played a pivotal role earlier in the day by casting a deciding vote on a procedural matter, clearing the way for AliKhan’s nomination to proceed to a final confirmation vote.
As a result of these votes, Biden has successfully obtained confirmation for a total of 161 judicial nominees.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Vice President Kamala Harris for her crucial role in passing significant legislation and confirming judicial nominees.
He emphasized that without her tie-breaking votes, vital bills such as the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act would not have become law.
Additionally, Schumer credited Harris for her contribution to ensuring the confirmation of numerous talented judges who are currently serving on the bench.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer emphasized the significance of Vice President Harris’s momentous achievement.
He highlighted not only the numeric value it represents but also the immense impact it has had through her tie-breaking votes.
Having served as the solicitor general for the District of Columbia attorney general’s office from 2018 to 2022, AliKhan’s professional background includes notable legal work.
One such case involved accusing former Republican President Donald Trump of violating anti-corruption provisions within the U.S. Constitution during his tenure while owning a hotel in Washington.
Following Trump’s departure from the presidency in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court, which had a conservative majority, overturned a previous decision made by a lower court. This lower court ruling had permitted the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland to proceed with their lawsuit.
Another situation involved Ali Khan’s unsuccessful defense of public health restrictions implemented by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
These restrictions, which limited religious gatherings to no more than 100 individuals indoors or outdoors, were contested by a local church.
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