After leaving Washington, D.C., for the August recess last week without breaking a Democratic blockade on executive branch confirmations, Se
Alex Samuels at Daily Kos:
After leaving Washington, D.C., for the August recess last week without breaking a Democratic blockade on executive branch confirmations, Senate Republicans are now openly considering going nuclear. According to The New York Times, the GOP is considering swift, unilateral changes to Senate rules to speed up the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s appointees this fall. “I think there are going to be rules changes,” Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota told the outlet, calling the nominations standoff a “crisis.” Notably, Rounds left open the possibility that his party would pursue these changes by force or through negotiations.
At the center of the debate is Democrats’ insistence on formal roll-call votes for nearly every executive branch nominee, which has stalled Trump’s efforts to fill dozens of top posts. In response, Republicans are contemplating removing procedural hurdles, like shortening the wait times between procedural and final votes, confirming multiple nominees at once, and reducing the number of positions requiring Senate approval. “This is not going to stand for much longer,” warned Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Cotton certainly isn’t one to talk. Under President Barack Obama, Cotton placed a hold on nominee Cassandra Butts—so long that she died before she could be confirmed. The threat of a rules overhaul comes as Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government. A partisan escalation could undo the rare progress both chambers have made on spending bills.
The Senate GOP is likely to change its rules regarding executive branch appointments in a bid to speed up the confirmation of Trump toadies who seek to wreck the USA.