Senate Democrats on Thursday used the so-called “nuclear option” to change the chamber’s long-standing rules and eliminate filibusters of presidential nominees, in a move that could further erode whatever cooperative mood was left in Washington.
Republicans feverishly objected, warning Democrats that the chain reaction they set in motion would fundamentally change the Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the GOP forced his hand over the last month by blocking three of President Obama’s nominees to sit on the federal appeals court in Washington.
“It’s time to change. It’s time to change the Senate before this institution becomes obsolete,” Mr. Reid said as he laid the groundwork for the move at the beginning of Thursday’s session.
The key vote to change the rules came just after noon. On a 52-48 tally, Democrats voted to change the precedents of the Senate and disallow filibusters of all nominations except those for the Supreme Court. Three Democrats voted with Republicans against the rules change, signaling how contentious the matter was even within the majority party.
The move comes as Democrats are reeling from attacks over Obamacare, and seems in part designed to try to find something else to rally their troops.
Republicans said there’s was little they could do to stop Mr. Reid once the Nevada Democrat, who had repeatedly threatened to take the step, finally pulled the trigger.
“When they don’t get everything they want, they resort to breaking the
rules like this,” said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican.
Mr. Reid’s planned move would not apply to bills, but only to filibusters of presidential nominations — though those account for a large chunk of the blockades, since nominations have become a major battleground over Mr. Obama’s agenda.
Mr. Reid’s move is known as the nuclear option because it requires complex parliamentary procedures and changing the rules in the middle of the session through a simple majority vote. Usually, the Senate must change its rules through a two-thirds vote, which is one way the chamber enforces comity — something that sets it apart from the very partisan House of Representatives.
Senate Republicans came close to doing a similar sort of rules change in 2005, when Democrats pioneered the practice of filibustering President George W. Bush’s appeals court nominees.
But the GOP backed down when a bipartisan group emerged and settled on a gentleman’s agreement that headed off the rules change, but preserved the right to filibuster.
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