The US Senate this afternoon voted 72 to 25 to invoke cloture on the debate over the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to become the next Associate Justice to the Supreme Court. Invoking cloture is necessary before the Chamber can have a final vote on the nomination. 60 votes are required to invoke cloture; and only a simple majority vote is required to approve a nominee. Passing this motion virtually assures that the nomination will be approved tomorrow.

The final vote on the confirmation is scheduled to be held tomorrow at 11:00 Eastern Time in advance of President Bush’s annual State of the Union Address when he will speak to a Joint Session of Congress.