| Notes |
The Senate, by a vote of 53 to 47, failed to confirm John Tower, who had been nominated by President George H.W. Bush to serve as defense secretary. It was the first time the Senate had rejected a new president’s Cabinet nominee.
After his defeat, Bush named Tower chairman of the president’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a post that does not require Senate confirmation. For its part, the Senate easily approved the president’s next pick for defense secretary, Rep. Dick Cheney of Wyoming, then serving as the House minority whip. |