Which tied Senate votes did Vice President Kamala Harris break in 2023?
GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin
Since Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) with his famously informal wardrobe was sworn into Congress this year, the Senate certainly has fewer neckties — but still plenty of voting ties.
In December, Vice President Kamala Harris set a new record for most tie-breaking Senate votes with 33. She accomplished the feat in just under three years, overtaking John C. Calhoun who broke 31 tied Senate votes, but across more than seven years from 1825 to 1832.
Calhoun still maintains a claim to fame that Harris hasn’t matched, though: breaking a Senate tie by voting against the way the vice president’s presidential boss wanted.
In 1832, Calhoun voted against President Andrew Jackson’s nomination of Martin van Buren as minister to the United Kingdom, the equivalent of an ambassador today. Harris, by contrast, has yet to defy President Joe Biden on any of her tie-breaking votes.
Harris cast seven tie-breaking votes this year, less than her 15 in 2021 or 11 in 2022, though still more than Joe Biden (zero) or Al Gore (four) cast during their entire vice presidencies.
What were Harris’s tie-breaking votes in 2023?
Araceli Martínez-Olguín
Biden nominated Martínez-Olguín, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), as a District Judge for the Northern District of California.
On February 28, the Senate invoked cloture by 48–47 — essentially, a “vote on whether to vote” — then confirmed her nomination by 49–48, with Harris breaking a tie. Both votes were along party lines.
Why the discrepancy between the two vote totals? Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) didn’t vote on the cloture motion, but did vote against the actual nomination. A spokesperson told GovTrack Insider that Sen. Tillis missed the cloture vote due to a funeral.
Supporters argued that Martínez-Olguín would bring her unique vantage point to the bench.
“Today the judiciary gained an exemplary jurist with deep experience defending justice and advancing gender, economic, and racial equity,” the NILC’s interim executive director Sara K. Gould and Board of Directors chair Angela M. Banks said in a joint statement. “In addition to her many professional accolades and successes, her lived experience as a Latina immigrant brings a crucial perspective to the federal judiciary.”
(Martínez-Olguín was born in Mexico City.)
Opponents countered that she couldn’t be trusted to uphold the law impartially.
“In 2021, you criticized a federal immigration raid in Tennessee, suggesting that the 2018 raid was evidence of ‘the racism and unconstitutionality of the federal government’s conduct,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote to Martínez-Olguín in a QFR (Questions for the Record). “You have also supported sanctuary policies, including publicly affirming your support for California’s sanctuary state law, SB 54.”
“Given your prior support for sanctuary policies and opposition to federal immigration law enforcement as an advocate,” Sen. Grassley asked, “how can litigants who might appear before you be confident that you will faithfully and fairly apply immigration laws?”
Margaret R. Guzman
Biden nominated Guzman, a judge for the Massachusetts State District Court, as a federal District Judge for Massachusetts.
On February 28, the Senate invoked cloture by 49–48, with Harris casting the tie-breaking vote — then the next day confirmed the nomination by 49–48, with Harris breaking a tie once again. Both votes were along party lines.
Supporters argued that Guzman’s public defender experience would serve her well, while her ethnicity would mark a first in the state.
“Judge Guzman has an exceptional understanding of our entire justice system with roots in the Worcester legal community as a public defender and deep expertise as a Massachusetts trial court judge,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said in a statement. “And today, she is making history as the first Hispanic judge to serve on the District Court in Massachusetts.”
Opponents like Chuck Grassley countered that Guzman had a history of ruling too leniently towards criminal defendants, as indicated in his Questions for the Record.
“An article published by the Patriot Ledger… highlighted your bench trial acquittal rate [for drunk driving charges] for the 45-month period between 2008 and 2011,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote to Guzman in a QFR (Questions for the Record). “The state average for acquittals at bench trials was 86 percent.”
Guzman, for her part, disputed the numbers cited. “At the time that the article was published, serious issues were raised as to the accuracy of the reported statistics,” she responded. “I registered my strong objections to my superiors, as I believed it mischaracterized my record.”
Natasha C. Merle
Biden nominated Merle, Deputy Director of Litigation for the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund, as a District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.
On June 21, the Senate invoked cloture by 51–50, with Harris casting the tie-breaking vote — then later that day confirmed the nomination by 50–49, with no tiebreaker necessary. In both votes, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) crossed party lines in opposition.
Why the discrepancy between the two vote totals? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted against the cloture motion, but then didn’t vote at all on the actual nomination. The reason is unclear. (Sen. Graham’s office didn’t reply to GovTrack Insider’s request for comment.)
Supporters argued that Merle was the right person for the job.
“Ms. Merle is an extraordinary and dedicated attorney who devoted her career to advancing equal justice,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a statement. “Our legal system will be well served by her sharp legal mind, exceptional understanding of federal law, and demonstrated commitment to civil rights.”
Opponents like Marsha Blackburn countered that some of Merle’s past comments, quotes, and issue advocacy rendered her disqualifying for a judgeship, as indicated in Blackburn’s Questions for the Record.
“In an August 2017 episode of the podcast called The Breach, you said ‘It’s inconsistent to denounce white supremacy but not repudiate voter ID laws, to not repudiate the Muslim ban, to not repudiate the wall. These are all things that support and are grounded in white supremacy,’” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wrote to Merle in a QFR (Questions for the Record).
Kalpana Kotagal
Biden nominated Kotagal, a civil rights and employment lawyer at the firm Cohen Milstein, for a four-year term on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC).
On July 12, the Senate invoked cloture by 51–50, with Harris casting the tie-breaking vote — then the next day confirmed the nomination by 49–47, with no tiebreaker necessary. In both votes, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) crossed party lines in opposition.
Why the discrepancy between the two vote totals? Four senators switched from voting in the cloture vote to not voting at all on the actual nomination. One was a Democrat in support, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). The other three were Republicans in opposition: Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
Sen. Hawley’s office told the Daily Signal that he left to travel to St. Louis and visit two sites contaminated by decades-old nuclear waste, the cleanup of which is one of his pet causes. The reasons for the other three senators’ absences on the nomination vote aren’t clear. (None of their offices replied to GovTrack Insider’s request for comment.)
Supporters argued that Kotagal’s experience prepared her for the position.
“In my sixteen years as a litigator, I have worked to uphold statutes that the EEOC is charged with enforcing,” Kotagal said in her Senate committee confirmation hearing. “I have filed charges, participated in investigations, and advocated on behalf of my clients before the EEOC, on behalf of veterans with disabilities, pregnant workers, survivors of workplace race and gender harassment, and others.”
Opponents countered that she was too left-wing for the commission.
“Ms. Kotagal is a liberal plaintiff’s lawyer who is best known for rewriting Hollywood legal contracts to push movie casting toward racial quotas, gender quotas, and sexual orientation quotas,” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on the Senate floor. “The president has found the one person in America who thinks liberal Hollywood is not woke enough.”
Kotagal was one of the main forces behind the Inclusion Rider, a provision that some actors and actresses have begun adding to their contracts for films in recent years, insisting that the production’s cast and crew meet certain diversity levels. It’s neither an industry requirement nor a federal law.
Loren L. AliKhan
Biden nominated AliKhan, a judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals (the highest court for local disputes in the city), as a federal District Judge for D.C.
On December 5, the Senate invoked cloture by 51–50, with Harris casting the tie-breaking vote — then later that day confirmed the nomination by 51–50, with Harris breaking a tie once again. In both votes, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) crossed party lines in opposition.
Supporters argued that AliKhan has served the city well as as D.C.’s solicitor general, the main lawyer position advocating on behalf of the city in court, from 2018 to 2022.
“Loren has defended and advanced the District’s legal interest in hundreds of appeals and amicus briefs on a stunning range of local and national issues, including voting rights, immigration rights, reproductive freedom rights, [and] tenants rights,” D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement. “Loren is destined for greatness on the [court]… we look forward to watching her shine.”
Republicans criticized positions she took in her role as D.C.’s solicitor general, including defending the city’s Covid-era lockdowns on churches, plus arguing that President Donald Trump’s ownership of a D.C. hotel while in office was unconstitutional.
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This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
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