The next vacancy occurred with the death of Justice
Frank Murphy on July 19, 1949. On August 2, 1949, Truman nominated Attorney General
Tom C. Clark.
The New York Times called Clark "a personal and political friend [of Truman's] with no judicial experience and few demonstrated qualifications." Clark had held various position in the Justice Department during the Roosevelt Administration, and had met and become good friends with Truman during that time; when Truman became president, one of his first acts was to appoint Clark as Attorney General. After playing an active role in the effort to reelect Truman in 1948, Clark made clear to the White House that he was planning to return to Texas and the practice of law. Following Justice Murphy's sudden death, however, Truman nominated Clark to fill the vacancy, partly to bolster the majority of Chief Justice
Fred Vinson, a former cabinet colleague and friend of Clark who, since his 1946 appointment by Truman, had failed to unify the Court. Numerous attacks from across the political spectrum were leveled at the nomination. Allegations included charges of “cronyism” and a lack of judicial experience. Policy objections focused on Clark's work at the center of Truman’s anti-communist agenda and, specifically, the Attorney General’s List of Subversive Organizations. Former Roosevelt cabinet members Henry Wallace and
Harold Ickes also leveled broadsides, for both personal and ideological reasons. Ickes said about Clark's nomination to the Court, "President Truman has not 'elevated' Tom C. Clark to the Supreme Court, he has degraded the Court." Nevertheless, Clark was confirmed by the
United States Senate on August 18, 1949 by a vote of 73–8. ==Sherman Minton nomination==