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Lying in State of President George H. W. Bush


The public is invited to pay their respects to President George H. W. Bush from 7:30 p.m. Monday, December 3, to 7 a.m. Wednesday, December 5. Please enter through the Capitol Visitor Center.

On Monday, December 3, Tuesday, December 4, and Wednesday, December 5, the Capitol Visitor Center will be closed for normal operations, and all Capitol tours are cancelled.

If you have a tour reservation and would like to reschedule, please visit our website at www.visitthecapitol.gov or contact the Visitor Services Office at (202)226-8000.

On Thursday, December 6, the Capitol Visitor Center will reopen for normal operations 8:30 a.m.

Congress and the Judicial Branch: Composition

We’ve Explained that We Picked Him Because He’s a Moderate, drawing by Herbert Block [Herblock], September 23, 1987

Supreme Court decisions have far-reaching consequences, so the appointment of a justice may affect the law for decades.

The president nominates Supreme Court justices, but the Senate has the sole power to confirm those appointments. The confirmation process has changed over time, but Congress’s capacity to shape the judiciary continues to be an important check on that interpretive body, as does its power to impeach and try members of the federal judiciary for “high crimes and misdemeanors”. These powers have elicited some of the most dramatic moments in congressional history.

The Senate Rejects a Chief Justice Letter from President George Washington to John Rutledge, July 1, 1795 Featured Letter from President George Washington to John Rutledge, July 1, 1795
The Senate Questions a Court Nominee President Calvin Coolidge’s message nominating Harlan Fiske Stone as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, January 5, 1925 Featured President Calvin Coolidge’s message nominating Harlan Fiske Stone as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, January 5, 1925
The Senate Rejects a Supreme Court Nominee Robert Bork at Senate Confirmation Hearing, photograph, September 1987 Featured Robert Bork at Senate Confirmation Hearing, photograph, September 1987