Can Repubs Block Stephen Breyer’s Replacement?
Not sure why Democrats are so trusting with Republicans with Deal-Making.
“The Senate is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. So far, so good, given past Senators have changed the rules for judicial nominees to get across the finish line with just 51 votes. The so-called nuclear option is meant as a last resort, but with the exception of Chief Justice John Roberts, none of the current conservative Justices cleared a 60-vote benchmark.
But the nuclear option can go into motion only if the Judiciary Committee reports the nomination to the floor, a procedural move that says whether a majority on the committee recommends the full Senate consider the pick. Well, in a little-noticed backroom deal that took more than a month to hammer out, McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to a power-sharing plan in February that splits committee membership, staffs and budgets in half. (Nonpartisan analysis from the Congressional Research Service here.)
Why does this matter? If all 11 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee oppose Biden’s pick and all 11 Democrats back her, the nomination goes inert. (A pretty safe bet in a committee where at least half of the Republican members have White House ambitions of their own.) The nomination doesn’t die, but it does get parked until a lawmaker—historically, the Leader of the party—brings it to the floor for four hours of debate.”
Then it is back to the sixty votes, even if Manchin and Sinema vote with Dems. They could bring the filibuster rule back to the floor and break the agreement with McConnell. Would Manchin and Sinema relent?
Do you think one Republican will break from the party stance? Since the overthrow attempt on January 6th, all Republicans have fallen back into line as stalwart party liners. Republicans see no wrong in blocking all legislation in the Senate or attempting to overthrow the nation’s government. There is no guilt on that side of the aisle. Everything is back to normal . . .
How Republicans Can Block Stephen Breyer’s Replacement, Time, Philip Elliot
Now that Stephen is retiring, I hope he focuses on improving his ice cream.
That’s a lost cause. Most of it they cannot even call ice cream, but frozen desert. Anything that has guar gum in it is not a food.
Manchin & Sinema have both approved of likely African-American female choices to replace Justice Breyer who were appointed to federal appellate courts, as have several GOP senators, so you would think there would be no problem. But Mitch McConnell will working extra hard to find one, presumably. It won’t be too hard.
Fred
Collins has said there is no need to hurry, we should take our time in approving the next Justice, and hold plenty of Hearings. When was the last time, she made a comment about January 6th? We need to get the next Justice approved quickly. And then, move back to the issue of the Republican inspired attack on the Capitol in an attempt to delay the ceremonial counting of electoral ballots. That should be mostly completed by November.
You need to read the link. McConnell can hold up the appointment.
Hmmm. There is the notorious nuclear option, used to pass Senate votes with a simple majority instead of the 60-vote supermajority often required.
For most of its history, did not apply to Supreme Court confirmations.
Wikipedia: On April 6, 2017, Senate Republicans invoked the nuclear option to remove the Supreme Court exception created in 2013. This was after Senate Democrats filibustered the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States and after the Senate Republicans had previously refused to take up Merrick Garland‘s nomination by President Obama in 2016.
What else does the GOP have to work with?
Here’s why Republicans can’t filibuster President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee
NY Times – Jan 26
In other words, the 52 Senate votes controlled by minority leader Mitch McConnell can still be used to stop a Supreme Court nomination, especially given that 2022 is a ‘mid-term election year’.
no . . . Did you read the Link?
But the nuclear option can go into motion only if the Judiciary Committee reports the nomination to the floor, a procedural move that says whether a majority on the committee recommends the full Senate consider the pick. Well, in a little-noticed backroom deal that took more than a month to hammer out, McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to a power-sharing plan in February that splits committee membership, staffs and budgets in half. (A full nonpartisan analysis from the Congressional Research Service regarding the current process for nominees is here.)
Why does this matter? If all 11 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee oppose Biden’s pick and all 11 Democrats back her, the nomination goes inert. (A pretty safe bet in a committee where at least half of the Republican members have White House ambitions of their own.) The nomination doesn’t die, but it does get parked until a lawmaker—historically, the Leader of the party—brings it to the floor for four hours of debate.
A majority of the Senate—51 votes, typically—can then put debate about the issue on the calendar for the next day. But that’s the last easy part. When the potential pick comes to the floor again, it’s not as a nomination. At that point, it’s a motion to discharge, a cloture motion that requires 60 votes. In other words, 10 Republicans would have to resurrect the nomination of someone already blocked in the Judiciary Committee.
No, I did not read your link. I read the links I put up.
In those, the recent power-sharing deal was not mentioned,
Sounds to me like how it might actually go down is not entirely clear, unless what you are suggesting is that that sharing deal (by Schumer) actually means the modified nuclear option still/again is disallowed, and if the Dems can’t use it, it’s on Schumer, for agreeing to ‘the deal’.
I hope this isn’t the case, but it’s still down to a situation where the Dems have to come up with 50 votes for confirmation (+ the VP’s vote for the win), and that is quite unlikely, because the minority leader won’t allow that to happen.
Oh well. It’d still be a conservative majority on the SC regardless, so what does it matter, really.
Or, as McConnell seems to have put it, it would not be ‘fair’ to have it any other way.
Fred:
Then you have wasted my time. Must I post every damn word to get it across to you? If McConnell can pull it off, this is what will happen. And Schumer is a fool for agreeing to it. I will not answer you again.
Time
Actually, I didn’t notice it was a link.
Maybe if you had just included…
in a little-noticed backroom deal that took more than a month to hammer out, McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to a power-sharing plan in February that splits committee membership, staffs and budgets in half.
(Actually, the Time article includes this, so I guess things will work out.)
Time
No need to be angry with me. Let’s reserve that for McConnell (and maybe Schumer.)
But we all know that McConnell is not going to make this confirmation easy or even possible, because he can avoid doing so, as the minority leader who controls 52 votes in the Senate. Just because he can.
The Senate (and its rules) have been carefully designed to protect ‘minority rights’, meaning the rights of the minority party in the Senate. So be it. Not a perfect democracy. Not even close.
Taking note of how the Senate is really constituted.
50 GOP senators. 48 Dem Senators.
2 ‘independent’ senators who caucus with and most often vote with the Dems.
2 Dem senators who caucus with and sometimes vote with the Dems, except on the ‘most important issues’.
One tie-breaking vote from the Dem VP, who votes only when there’s a tie.
You might think there would be more ties.
But in most instances, a sixty-vote majority is required for passage.