Congressional Glossary
What is cloture?
Cloture is the Senate motion that ends debate and forces a final vote. On most legislation it takes 60 votes; on nominations, a simple majority.
In one sentence
Cloture is the Senate motion that ends debate and forces a final vote. On most legislation it takes 60 votes; on nominations, a simple majority.
Votes needed: 60 of 100 senators (three-fifths) on legislation; a simple majority on nominations
What cloture does
Cloture is the Senate's only formal way to end debate when senators will not stop on their own. The Senate has no general time limit on debate, which is what makes a filibuster possible. Cloture is the answer the Senate wrote for itself in 1917, when it adopted Rule XXII and gave the chamber a way to vote debate closed. The Senate keeps a plain-English page on the procedure at senate.gov.
Getting there takes a few steps. At least 16 senators sign a cloture motion and file it on the floor. The motion then sits for two days of session before the Senate votes on it. Only after that vote succeeds does the chamber start moving toward a final decision.
How many votes cloture needs
There are three different answers, depending on what the Senate is voting on. Most legislation needs 60 votes, three-fifths of the full Senate; that figure dates to 1975, when the Senate lowered the bar from two-thirds of those voting. Nominations need a simple majority, a change the Senate made in 2013 for most nominations and extended to Supreme Court picks in 2017. A change to the Senate's standing rules needs two-thirds of senators present and voting, the hardest bar of the three.
Cloture is not the final vote
Invoking cloture ends the delay; it does not pass anything. After cloture, up to 30 more hours of consideration can follow before the Senate votes on the measure itself, and that final vote usually needs only a simple majority. The two votes can also look very different. Cloture on the nomination of Arthur Roberts Jones to a district judgeship passed 50 to 44 on June 24, 2026. The confirmation vote came almost three weeks later, 46 to 44, on July 13.
Cloture votes in the 119th Congress
When 60 senators actually agree, cloture is quick. The Senate invoked cloture 84 to 8 on H.R. 6644, a housing supply bill, on June 18, 2026, then passed the bill 85 to 5 four days later; the full H.R. 6644 timeline shows every step. Most cloture votes in the current Senate involve nominations, where the majority threshold applies. The list below comes straight from the official record and refreshes as new votes are tracked.
Recent cloture votes
8 roll calls shown, newest first. Each row links to the official record.
Common questions
Sixty of the Senate's 100 members must vote yes to invoke cloture on most legislation. Nominations need only a simple majority, and a change to the Senate's standing rules needs two-thirds of the senators present and voting.
A filibuster is the act of blocking a vote by extending debate. Cloture is the motion that ends that debate. Once the Senate invokes cloture, remaining consideration is capped, usually at 30 hours, and the measure moves to a final vote.
Debate is capped and the measure heads to a final vote, which usually needs only a simple majority. Cloture on the housing bill H.R. 6644 passed 84 to 8 on June 18, 2026; final passage came four days later, 85 to 5.