With Nominees Stalled, Democrats Reprise Filibuster Threat
For the third time this year, the Democrats who run the Senate are again threatening to change that chamber's rules on the Republican minority's most potent weapon: the filibuster. They say the GOP's obstruction of President Obama's nominations leaves them no other choice.
Democrats say that this time, they're ready to pull the trigger on what's known as "the nuclear option." Doing so would amount to altering the rules not with the traditional two-thirds majority, but a simple majority of 51.
The push to curtail Republicans' right to filibuster has been led mainly by Democratic newcomers who have only served in the majority — and thus have never used the threat of endless debate to block a nomination they didn't like.
Among them is Jeff Merkley, a soft-spoken, first-term Democrat from Oregon. He took to the Senate floor Wednesday to declare that good-hearted dialogue and understanding have not been enough to cure the repeated abuse of the filibuster.
"We have a single path left to us to appropriately exercise advice and consent, and that is to change the rules so that they can't be abused," Merkley said.
And the biggest abuse, Merkley and his fellow Democrats say, has taken place just in the last three weeks. During that time, GOP filibusters have blocked three of President Obama's nominees to fill three longstanding vacancies on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.
That court is widely seen as second only to the Supreme Court in importance, since it rules on the actions of federal agencies and the White House as well as major laws such as the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans say the court, which currently has four judges appointed by Democrats and four by Republicans, is already well staffed.
"The data overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that the D.C. Circuit is underworked," said Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican. "Everyone knows this is true. That circuit does not need any more judges. "
Senate Republicans are hoping that a few Democratic holdouts will stymie the effort to force a rules change with only a bare majority.
Politics
Republicans Push Back On Obama's D.C. Court Nominees