who has the power to appoint a new supreme court justice
the Senate the President
title: Appointment and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States text: appointments that have been made to the Supreme Court: The ability of a president to appoint new justices depends on the occurrence of a vacancy on the Court. In practice, such vacancies normally occur as the result of an incumbent justices' death, resignation, or retirement. The Constitution provides that justices "shall hold their offices during good behavior", which is understood to mean that confirmed justices may serve for the remainder of their lives, until death. Justices may also resign or retire from their offices, and any of these circumstances results in a vacancy which must be filled. Because justices have title: Supreme Court of the United States text: Garland; the nomination expired in January 2017, and the vacancy was later filled by President Trump's appointment of Neil Gorsuch. Once the Senate confirms a nomination, the president must prepare and sign a commission, to which the Seal of the Department of Justice must be affixed, before the new justice can take office. The seniority of an associate justice is based on the commissioning date, not the confirmation or swearing-in date. The importance of commissioning is underscored by the case of Edwin M. Stanton. Although appointed to the court on December 19, 1869 by President Ulysses S. Grant and confirmed title: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States text: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is the title of all members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution grants plenary power to the president to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution title: Supreme Court of the United States text: elevated Harlan Fiske Stone to Chief Justice. The U.S. Constitution states that the President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Judges of the Supreme Court." Most presidents nominate candidates who broadly share their ideological views, although a justice's decisions may end up being contrary to a president's expectations. Because the Constitution sets no qualifications for service as a justice, a president may nominate anyone to serve, subject to Senate confirmation. In modern times, the confirmation process has attracted considerable attention from the press and advocacy groups, which lobby senators to confirm title: Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination text: Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination After his nomination on January 31, 2017, Neil Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate on April 7, 2017. Gorsuch, age 49 at confirmation, is the youngest sitting Supreme Court justice since Clarence Thomas. In February 2016, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died, leaving a vacancy on the highest federal court in the United States. Article II of the U.S. Constitution requires the president to nominate justices to the Supreme Court, subject to the "advice and consent" of the United States Senate. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy.