Bringing a judicial nominee to the floor requires a majority vote -- in the Judiciary Committee. Once the nominee reaches the floor, then only a majority vote is required to confirm. However, the Filibuster Rule does apply to the debate.
It is not true that the Filibuster Rule (Cloture Rule) means that every bill or nominee requires 60 votes to proceed. The reason is that conducting a filibuster leaks off a majority of the Senate, by definition. Therefore, seldom will 40 Senators commit to a filibuster to the death of an issue or nominee, because they have to work with the majority on other issues, later.
Congressman Billybob
Click for latest column, "Three Anti-Endorsements." Not yet up on FR, or UPI.