[REDSTATE] On Thursday, Senate Republicans triggered the "nuclear option" that was holding back many of President Donald Trump's nominations. Now things can get moving.
Republicans triggered the "nuclear option" to change the rules of the Senate on a party-line basis Thursday, a move that will allow them to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominees for key executive branch positions.
The vote was 53-45 to establish a new rule that allows the Senate to confirm an unlimited number of nominees en bloc, rather than process each one individually.
The rule applies to executive branch nominees subject to two hours of Senate debate, including subcabinet picks and ambassadors. It will not affect judicial nominations. Republicans say they'll allow their own senators to object to individual nominees in any given block, but the rule will strip away the power of the minority party to do the same thing.
This is what we voted for: A GOP that will play hardball. And what's more, the caucus seems to be holding together pretty well, as we might assume from the 53-45 vote, although the roster has not been released as of this writing. |