Posted on 04/03/2019 1:15:59 PM PDT by jazusamo
Senate Republicans deployed the “nuclear option” on Wednesday to drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to confirm hundreds of President Trump’s nominees.
Senators voted 51-48 to change the rules for the amount of time it takes to confirm most executive nominations with only a simple majority of the chamber. GOP Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Susan Collins (Maine) joined with Democrats in opposing the rules change.
Republicans are expected to trigger the “nuclear option” for a second time later Wednesday to force through the same change for district court nominations.
The combined actions will result in most nominations that require Senate confirmation needing only two hours of debate after they’ve defeated a filibuster that shows they have the votes to ultimately be confirmed. Before Wednesday’s rules change they faced up to an additional 30 hours of debate.
Supreme Court picks, appeals court judges and Cabinet nominees will not be affected by the rules change and will still face the lengthier Senate floor debate.
But the move will let Republicans hit the gas on confirming nominations, a top priority in an era of divided government that has left lawmakers without big-ticket legislative agenda items.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued shortly before triggering the hardball procedural tactic that the Senate needed to go back to a “more normal and reasonable process” for confirming nominations.
“Our colleagues across the aisle have chosen to endlessly relitigate the 2016 election rather than actually participate in governing,” McConnell added. “This problem goes deeper than today. We’re talking about the future of this very institution and the future functioning of our constitutional government.
Republicans have set a record for the number of appeals judges confirmed during an administration’s first two years, but they’ve accused Democrats of using the chamber’s legislative rulebook to slow down lower-level executive and judicial nominations.
Of 715 “key positions” tracked by The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service, 435 have been confirmed by the Senate. An additional 131 are awaiting confirmation, 12 need to be formally nominated and 140 positions still need nominations.
And, according to the same tracker, some departments still have substantial vacancies in their Senate-confirmed positions.
The Interior Department, for example, has 41 percent of its Senate-confirmed employees in place, the Justice Department has 48 percent and the Department of Labor has 50 percent.
It’s the second time Republicans have gone “nuclear” to make it easier to confirm Trump’s nominees in as many years. In 2017, Republicans nixed the 60-vote filibuster on Supreme Court nominees, mirroring the action Democrats took in 2013 on lower-court and executive nominees.
Republicans made a last-ditch effort on Tuesday to pass the rules change as a standing order, which would have required 60 votes. But Democrats and Lee voted against the resolution, preventing it from getting the necessary support to pass.
The resolution was widely expected to fail the earlier test vote but was aimed at assuaging concerns from within the GOP caucus about moving forward with the nuclear option without at least trying to pass it with Democrats. The caucus held a meeting on Tuesday evening to walk through the plan for Wednesday.
“I think we had to convince 51, at least 51, of our members that we’re doing everything possible to try to do this through regular order,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) about the point of Tuesday’s vote.
Republicans say they reached out to try to negotiate an agreement with Democrats to try to reach a deal to avoid Wednesday’s floor drama but found little interest. Sources familiar with the negotiations told The Hill last week that Democrats have tried to negotiate a deal with McConnell, with suggested changes such as postponing the rules change until 2021, applying it only to executive nominees or restoring the “blue slip” for circuit court picks but were unable to reach an agreement.
Democrats are bristling over Republicans decision to invoke the “nuclear option,” arguing that they can’t simultaneously complain about the pace of nominations while setting a record for some court nominees.
A similar resolution passed the Senate in 2013 that cut debate time for most executive nominations to eight hours and district judges to two hours. But that resolution, which passed with bipartisan support, only controlled the 113th Congress.
Democrats argue that the dynamic around nominations has changed dramatically since then. Democrats nixed the 60-vote filibuster in 2013 for most nominations and Republicans followed suite in 2017 on Supreme Court nominations.
Republicans have also moved circuit nominations over the objections of home-state senators.
“The way my colleagues on the other side talk about the issue, you’d think Democrats delayed every nominee for as long as possible. That just doesn’t remotely resemble the truth,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The GOP should eschew the word “nuclear”, and call it the Justice Option.
MAGA BUMP! ;^)
Patronism is dead. It would not even be possible to do what you suggest without massive changes in Civil Service laws. Won’t happen.
I get Susan Collins opposing this - she’s a lesbo lib twat, about a useless as tits on a bull ... but Mike Lee? What’s his problem, besides being your typical Mormon a-hole?
Well, that opinion aged badly. care to make another prediction?
I do ...
Can’t
Understand
Normal
Thinking.
re: “I’m guessing Trump cut a deal. He backed off shuting down the border for this probably.”
^^^^ FUD, I’ll bet ^^^^
Our founding fathers weren't idiots so I'm guessing the framework to allow this horror happened under democrats many years ago... with ‘good intentions’... and a misunderstanding of toxic incentives.
If it's not in the Constitution, it can be changed relatively easily. Now is the time.
Well excuse my totally unfounded prediction. What, with the turtle and his senate having a history of bold actions to push Trump’s MAGA agenda. Way out of line on my part.
It’s a “Mormon” thing ... The “bishop” (Mittens) gave Lee his marching orders.
Perhaps Lee’s “magic underwear” are a tad too tight in the crotch.
Thanks for jogging the memory. I do remember the Rep being ahead on election night and the whole ranking thing - an odd way to do it, but legal unfortunately.
I'm very familiar with King and LePage. Both received much publicity as governor due to their unique styles.
On another note, I have been to beautiful Maine several times and it is a wonderland. However, I will never forget visiting one time in July and went to the beach and I have never felt water so cold ever! Most didn't seem to mind but I was happy to stay out of the water.
No, it’s BAAAAADDD!!!!!
Or at least a few folks said because the dems will have the senate again.
So, er, they will use it every time they have the senate and we won’t?
How is that a good thing?
USE IT. USE IT. and USE IT AGAIN!!
Yep, do unto others before they do unto us.
Lee and Collins. That’s an odd combination to be the odd men out.. Especially Collins without Flake or Romney or a couple others
Call it “The Reid Option”.
Use it constantly. For effect.
Yes exactly. That’s my point. I like Reid Option better.
Yes, rub their noses in it.
1,000 times.
That was Governor Paul LePage, elected in Nov. 2010 and re-elected in Nov. 2014. Gov. LePage actually did much better than expected in the more liberal First Congressional District in 2014....LePage was actually the most conservative governot in the U.S. when he was in office, and he spoke his mind. He was even more outspoken than President Trump.
Meanwhile....back at the ranch:
Maine has gone Hyper-RAT, the House, the Senate, and the Governette...all full-blown baby-killing, tree-hugging, pervert-loving, paycheck-robbing socialists....Better strap yourselves in!....(or run for your lives).
Given the "legal" election theft of the CD2 seat (rank choice voting) I fully believe the last election was completely stolen, state-wide Florida style.
“Maine has gone Hyper-RAT, the House, the Senate, and the Governette...all full-blown baby-killing, tree-hugging, pervert-loving, paycheck-robbing socialists....Better strap yourselves in!....(or run for your lives).”
Not to mention Somalian no-go-zone in that one town...
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