Quietly, in the background, they’re taking care of the nation’s business. [OffThePress] Fed up with Democrats slow-walking the process of confirming President Donald Trump’s civilian nominees, Republicans will permanently change Senate voting rules as soon as Thursday.
Lawmakers can implement this so-called “nuclear option” by a simple majority vote. Democrats used it in 2013 to limit debate time and more easily invoke cloture on all nominees except U.S. Supreme Court appointees, while Republicans extended that to include SCOTUS nominees in 2017.
The pending GOP proposal – a near replica of a failed Democrat-sponsored proposal in 2023 – would allow all subcabinet nominees to be confirmed in groups, something senators often do anyway.
“Senate Republicans are putting back in place the very practice that Democrats had endorsed until today,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told lawmakers Wednesday. “We are ending the [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer confirmation shutdown, and we are getting the Senate back to work on behalf of the American people.” |