Democrats Perfect Art of Delay While Republicans Fume Over Trump Nominees
The New York Times
Carl Hulse
July 17, 2017
"When Senate Democrats in 2013 drastically weakened the ability to filibuster presidential nominees, it seemed as if they were creating a glide path for a president whose party controlled the Senate to speed through confirmations.
"But as President Trump and Senate Republicans are learning to their great displeasure that has not been the case. Instead, a new kind of delaying tactic was born, one meant not to block a particular nominee but to snarl the Senate and limit the number of people who can get confirmation votes …
"… Democrats cannot indefinitely block nominees since procedural objections can be overcome with a simple majority vote instead of a supermajority of 60. But they can prolong the process to an excruciating degree and are doing so in many cases, giving Senate Republicans and the White House fits …
"‘Not allowing the administration to take over the government is the wrong thing to do,’ said Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of the Republican leadership. ‘It is unacceptable. It’s outrageous. Something has to change.’ …
"‘The level of obstruction exhibited by Senate Democrats on these nominees is just breathtaking,’ Mr. McConnell said Monday as he castigated Democrats again for forcing ‘needless procedural votes on nominees they actually support.’ …
"Democrats are not denying that they are slowing the process to protest how Senate Republicans have handled the health care bill. It’s also payback for the way Republicans forced through some early nominees without the proper paperwork.
"‘As we’ve made clear to our Republican colleagues, if they continue to insist on ramming through a secret health care bill without any public input or debate, they shouldn’t expect business as usual in the Senate,’ said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.
“Before the Senate became a setting for nearly nonstop partisan warfare, senators routinely approved most lower-level nominees by voice vote, rarely insisting on the full slate of procedural steps when the outcome was a given. But those days appear to be gone.”
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