QUESTIONS:
1. Condoleezza Rice was confirmed as secretary of State by a vote of 85-13 in the Senate. What nominee for secretary of State received more Senate votes against confirmation?
2. Alberto Gonzales was confirmed as attorney general by a vote of 60-36 in the Senate. Who was the last attorney general to receive more votes against him in the Senate than Gonzales?
3. How many senators voted against Robert Kennedy's nomination as attorney general in 1961?
4. Gonzales is a former judge of the Texas Supreme Court? Who was the last former judge to serve as attorney general?
5. Who was the last nominee to any Cabinet position to be rejected for confirmation by the Senate?
ANSWERS:
1. Henry Clay, confirmed by a vote of 27-14 in the Senate in 1825.
2. John Ashcroft, confirmed by a vote of 58-42 in the Senate in '01.
3. One. Sen. Gordon Allott (R.-Colo.).
4. Griffin Bell, who resigned as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals to serve as attorney general from 1977-79.
5. Former Texas GOP Sen. John Tower, rejected by the Senate when nominated by President George H.W. Bush to be secretary of Defense in 1989.
