4 ms·
I think the law of the land is probably “whoever controls the Senate decides whether the Senate confirms a nominee”, but I guess we’ll find out soon.
by shajznnckfke 6y ago
I think the law of the land is probably “whoever controls the Senate decides whether the Senate confirms a nominee”, but I guess we’ll find out soon.
- tick_tock_tick 6y agoI mean legally it's always been this the Supreme Court has been very clear on every cases regarding confirmation that Congress is free to act or not act at it's leisure.
- nscalf 6y agoThis wasn't always the case, here's an excerpt from the wiki on recent changes making this the case: "Senate cloture rules historically required a two-thirds affirmative vote to advance nominations to a vote; this was changed to a three-fifths supermajority in 1975. In November 2013, the then-Democratic Senate majority eliminated the filibuster for executive branch nominees and judicial nominees except for Supreme Court nominees by invoking the so-called nuclear option. In April 2017, the Republican Senate majority applied the nuclear option to Supreme Court nominations as well,[2] enabling the nominations of Trump nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to proceed to a vote.[3][4] "
- jlawson 6y agoInteresting, so if Trump can nominate and pass another judge, it'll be by using the rule that the Democrats changed in 2013 to benefit themselves.
- nscalf 6y agoTo be fair, they passed the ruling for non-supreme court justices. Republicans extended it to include them in 2017. Still, an example of terrible governance and foresight on both sides.
- rootusrootus 6y agoThat would be incorrect, unless you are talking about a regular federal judge and not a Supreme Court justice. In the latter case, it was a rule the Republicans changed in 2017 to benefit themselves.
- ghufran_syed 6y agoThe filibuster has always seemed anti-democratic - it’s not in the constitution, and I’m pretty sure that historically it was a way to make give the minority senators more power at the expense of the people.
- shajznnckfke 6y agoThat’s just the Senate deciding internally what its procedures are. Either way, the Senate is making the choice.
- caymanjim 6y agoThere's no probably about it or thinking required. That is literally the law. The President nominates a replacement, and the Senate votes to confirm it or not. There are plenty of layers of politics, posturing, and pomp added on, but the law is simple and clear.
- rootusrootus 6y agoBut it hasn't been followed in some time. The last president did nominate a replacement, and the Senate elected not to vote at all.