FuzzyLumpkins
10-31-2013, 06:59 PM
It didn’t take long for the “nuclear option” to come back to the Senate.
In quick succession, Senate Republicans held together Thursday to block two of President Barack Obama’s nominations to both the executive and judicial branches. The votes threatened to upend the relative peace that has taken hold in the Senate over the past few months since leaders agreed in July to not change the chamber’s rules by a majority vote — the “nuclear option” — to make it harder for the minority to block executive nominations.
Senate liberals — who have long pressed their leadership to rewrite the rules to allow nominations to pass with a simple majority — pointed to Thursday’s votes as yet another reason to eliminate 60-vote thresholds on procedural votes for nominees. The chamber voted 56-42 to block Rep. Mel Watt’s (D-N.C.) nomination to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency — a rare rebuke to a sitting lawmaker. Patricia Millett’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was stopped in a 55-38 vote.
“People are pretty upset,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who said if he was the Senate leader he’d move toward a rules change. “Support is growing for changing the rules when they play these games.”
“The pattern of ‘obstruct and delay’ has returned as the norm in the U.S. Senate with today’s filibuster of two highly qualified nominees,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) “It proves once again the need to reform the Senate’s rules.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/senate-blocks-nominations-99182.html?hp=t1_3
In quick succession, Senate Republicans held together Thursday to block two of President Barack Obama’s nominations to both the executive and judicial branches. The votes threatened to upend the relative peace that has taken hold in the Senate over the past few months since leaders agreed in July to not change the chamber’s rules by a majority vote — the “nuclear option” — to make it harder for the minority to block executive nominations.
Senate liberals — who have long pressed their leadership to rewrite the rules to allow nominations to pass with a simple majority — pointed to Thursday’s votes as yet another reason to eliminate 60-vote thresholds on procedural votes for nominees. The chamber voted 56-42 to block Rep. Mel Watt’s (D-N.C.) nomination to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency — a rare rebuke to a sitting lawmaker. Patricia Millett’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was stopped in a 55-38 vote.
“People are pretty upset,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who said if he was the Senate leader he’d move toward a rules change. “Support is growing for changing the rules when they play these games.”
“The pattern of ‘obstruct and delay’ has returned as the norm in the U.S. Senate with today’s filibuster of two highly qualified nominees,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) “It proves once again the need to reform the Senate’s rules.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/senate-blocks-nominations-99182.html?hp=t1_3