On July 1, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace the retiring Thurgood Marshall, despite Thomas's limited judicial experience—he had served only about a year on the D.C. Circuit. The nomination was immediately contentious, drawing fierce opposition from women's and civil rights groups over Thomas's conservative views, particularly on abortion. The process exploded into a media frenzy when law professor Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexual harassment, with allegations leaking from a confidential FBI report and prompting dramatic, televised hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. After intense public scrutiny, the Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed Thomas on October 15, 1991, by a razor-thin 52-48 vote, and he took the oath of office on October 23. This battle was a calculated political move by Bush, who had previously passed over Thomas in 1990 for David Souter but had promised a "true conservative" for the next vacancy, cementing the nomination as one of the most controversial in Supreme Court history.