Reagan Elevates Rehnquist to Chief Justice, Confirms Scalia 98-0

The Senate confirmed William Rehnquist as Chief Justice on September 26, 1986, by a 65-33 vote, and Antonin Scalia as Associate Justice by a unanimous 98-0 vote on the same day. Reagan used the retirements of Chief Justice Warren Burger to simultaneously promote Rehnquist and fill his vacated seat with Scalia, a strategy that shifted the Court's center of gravity rightward. Scalia's unanimous confirmation stood in contrast to the contentious confirmation battles that followed within a year.