12. Before President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, the longest a nomination had gone without Senate action was the 125 days it took to take up President Wilson's nomination of Louis Brandeis, who, of course, was confirmed. Garland, nominated on March 13, 2016, had reached that point by July 18. The nomination died at the end of Obama's term, after 293 days. In the 19th century, a number of nominations were postponed, but postponement constitutes an action for purposes of this question. In the case of Garland, no action at all was taken by the Senate.