The Senate has voted to change its rules so that a simple majority is required to confirm judicial nominations and executive branch picks — the so-called “nuclear option.”
The final vote was 52-48.
“The threshold for cloture on nominations not including the Supreme Court, is now a majority,” Sen Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), the president pro temp, declared after the vote.
Yeah, at the moment people are still calling it the “nuclear option.” But it will eventually come to be known as “the Reid Rule.”
And before all you Republicans start crying about the Democrats disposing of a couple centuries of tradition, look in the fucking mirror. The filibuster used to be a last resort. But you guys just had to be total dicks about it. Just be thankful Dems didn’t eliminate the filibuster for everything.
These changes are long overdue. The GOP has made Obama dance and jive for every single candidate in his cabinet since day one. These deadbeat office-holders need to get to work fixing America instead of playing games. Is the sole purpose of the Republican Party to bamboozle Obama? http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/10…
This is astonishing. I’m struggling to not get my hopes up about an actually effective Democratic bloc in Congress.