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Politics

In the US Congress, what is Unanimous Consent?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated May 17, 2024
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Unanimous consent is an agreement by all members present on anything requiring a yes or no decision. If a family all agrees to have pizza for dinner, this can be considered unanimous. If anyone objects to pizza, however, unanimous agreement is not achieved, and the decision may have to come down to either a vote or parental discretion. In Congress, unanimous consent is a way of quickly deciding issues without taking a vote. Issues where unanimous agreement may be readily obtained are noncontroversial ones.

For example, if Congress wishes to table an issue and no one objects, this move can be considered unanimous. Alternately, Congress might decide to have Democrats and Republicans take turns arguing an issue. Though the issue itself may not be agreed on unanimously, the procedure for arguing the issue may be.

At times, all members present in Congress approve bills or confirmation hearings without objection. When most of Congress knows something will be approved with unanimous consent, there's no good reason to take a vote. Generally, a statement first calls for any objections to be raised. If no objections are raised, no vote is needed, so whatever decision needs to be made is adopted unanimously.

Unanimous consent in Congress saves time for the debates and votes needed on issues likely to spark controversy. It helps that a bi-partisan Congress can agree on certain things in order to get on with the real debates.

If any member of Congress objects to an action, it cannot pass unanimously. So, for example, it is unlikely that decisions like confirmations of Supreme Court Justices or amendments to the Constitution will be made without a vote.

In rare situations, as after the 11 September 2001 attack in the US, Congress adopted several measures by unanimous consent because there was a great deal of support for the president and his party. Several months after 9/11, however, party divisions began to reassert themselves, and issues once again became more likely to be voted on.

One further distinction in unanimous consent in Congress needs to be made. It can only refer to the members of Congress who are present. A person who objects to something but who is not there to object essentially has no vote, and is not considered in the decision.

America Explained is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a America Explained contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.
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Discussion Comments
By PinkLady4 — On Aug 17, 2011

My mother-in-law worked as an assistant for a large corporation.She would complain when the Board of Directors couldn't come to unanimous consent on the simplest issue.

When there is a Board of Directors for a corporation and there are certain decisions to be made,this board needs to either vote in person or sign a written document. The information about the vote must be recorded and that must show unanimous consent about the topics.

She told me that sometimes there was disagreement beforehand, but when it was resolved, unanimous consent was given. Fortunately, she said that most of the time they came to unanimous consent easily on obvious topics.

By Clairdelune — On Aug 16, 2011

I wonder how long its been since our federal government has had an issue settled by unanimous consent. I'll bet it's been a while. And there have been other times in our history when Congress has been politically divided and can do nothing but argue and maybe vote.

There are always certain issues in the government that can be settled by unanimous consent. It's such a waste of time to argue and banter back and forth about obvious things. There's enough serious issues that need to be debated. In the meantime, those who need the benefits of legislation suffer.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a America Explained contributor, Tricia...
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