On the Nomination PN1737: Shaun L. S. Donovan, of New York, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Sen. John Cornyn (R), the Minority Whip, voted Nay against his party.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), the Minority Leader, voted Nay against his party.

Somtimes a party leader will vote on the winning side, even if it is against his or her position, to have the right to call for a new vote under a motion to reconsider. For more, see this explanation from The Washington Post.

We do not know the rationale behind any vote, however.

“Aye” and “Yea” mean the same thing, and so do “No” and “Nay”. Congress uses different words in different sorts of votes.

The U.S. Constitution says that bills should be decided on by the “yeas and nays” (Article I, Section 7). Congress takes this literally and uses “yea” and “nay” when voting on the final passage of bills.

All Senate votes use these words. But the House of Representatives uses “Aye” and “No” in other sorts of votes.