Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer is facing growing backlash over his management of the Senate’s day-to-day affairs, with both Republicans and Democrats saying the institution is running at a slower pace than usual.
Lawmakers say that under Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, the time allowed for individual votes on legislation and nominations has significantly increased. On Wednesday alone it took the Senate roughly 50 minutes each to approve three of President Biden’s judicial nominees.
“I’ve never seen a more inefficient process in the world,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman.
In the past, votes on legislation and nominees usually took about 15 to 30 minutes. Under Mr. Schumer’s leadership, the time allotted for individual votes has skyrocketed.
Mr. Schumer lays the blame on Republicans.
The majority leader claims that time is eaten up by GOP senators forcing recorded votes on legislation and nominees, rather than just letting them pass by a voice count.
“Most of these votes in the old days would have just occurred by voice,” Mr. Schumer said. “But our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, just a handful, are making us vote, even for circuit judges.”
The push for a voice vote on non-controversial legislation and nominations is itself controversial. A voice vote is disliked on both sides because it allows for measures to advance with as little as one lawmaker on the Senate floor.
Opponents say the practice is not only unfair, but also shrouds Congressional deliberations in secrecy. A recorded vote, which requires lawmakers to trudge to the Senate floor and cast their vote in-person, is more transparent, they say.
Despite the argument, both Republicans and Democrats say something needs to be done to make the Senate more efficient.
“It’s hard to imagine why it would take two hours to do three 15-minute votes,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican. “But bad behavior reinforces itself.”
Lawmakers say that Mr. Schumer could and should do more to rectify the situation. Few from within even his own party think the problem results solely from the machinations of a few Republicans.
Senators say Mr. Schumer needs to exert more leadership within the 50-50 Senate. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, went to the extent of confronting Mr. Schumer on the Senate floor earlier this week about the topic.
“Could we have some discipline in the votes, ever,” Ms. Sinema told the majority leader. “You’re in charge!”
Lawmakers say that Mr. Schumer could and should enforce strict time limits on votes. The Senate rules allow the majority leader to set a time frame by which votes must be taken. In the past, both Democrats and Republicans have opted to close votes after 15 minutes.
Sen. Ben Cardin, Maryland Democrat, said a strictly enforced time limit will force lawmakers to be expeditious and more considerate of their colleagues.
“To me, it’s gotten to a point of just a lack of respect for the calendar of members,” he said. “For a member to be disrespectful of others … and stay in their office for half an hour when they could have been over here voting is just wrong.”
But at the moment, Mr. Schumer is resisting that option.
His position mainly stems from the difficulty that already exists in corralling votes in an evenly split Senate, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
Allies say that keeping votes open-ended allows Democratic leadership to deal with any snags that might arise. It also prevents lawmakers from being penalized for occasionally running late to votes because of other duties associated with their office.
“People are in the middle of other work,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, Hawaii Democrat, when discussing the reason lawmakers might be late to a vote.
For the moment, the Senate is unlikely to push any major change to expedite the timing of votes, because the absence of Sen. Ben Ray Lujan means Mr. Schumer now holds even less control over the chamber.
The New Mexico Democrat remains hospitalized after suffering a stroke last week. Aides say he is unlikely to return to the Senate for at least the next four to six weeks, and even that assumes that no complications arise during his recuperation.
His absence means that Democrats currently have 49 votes on any given measure to the GOP’s 50.
The impact is less likely to be felt on regular legislation, which generally requires 60 votes to overcome the Senate’s filibuster threshold anyway. Nominations are another matter, since confirmations need only a simple majority.
“We all know it’s an evenly divided Senate and the loss of any one of us even for a short period of time is a major obstacle,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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