WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans this week agreed to dramatically shorten the time allotted for debate on most presidential nominees, further eroding its purpose, as described by James Madison, to proceed with “more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom” than the House of Representatives.
Scott McLean, a professor of politics at Quinnipiac University, says it is yet another sign of the hyper-partisan times driving Capitol Hill.
“The Senate is increasingly taking on similar characteristics of the House. It is more partisan, more ideological and Senate rules are not designed for that kind of environment. The rules are meant to prevent that from happening, and yet it is happening anyway,” McLean says.
Gary Rose, a professor of politics at Sacred Heart University, sees a danger in weakening filibuster and cloture rules that historically provided a brake on the legislative process that allows the minority party an opportunity to be heard.
“Of all places, the Senate should be the chamber for deliberation,” he says. “The whole purpose of the filibuster was to prevent a stampede.”
The Senate voted largely along party lines to reduce, from 30 hours to 2 hours, the time allowed for debate when cloture is invoked on most presidential nominees. It passed over the objections of all the Democrats and two Republicans — Mike Lee of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sought the change to speed the confirmation process complaining that Democrats were abusing the rule to deny President Donald Trump his nominees. Democrats opposed the rule change saying presidential nominees should not be rubber stamped by the Senate.
“Now we’ll spend less time debating the qualifications of these nominees than it takes to watch the average baseball game,” complains Senator Richard Blumenthal. “Unsatisfied with ramming through a record number of ideologically extreme nominees, the Republicans have now unilaterally changed the rules to further pack the courts with a slate of jurists who don’t represent the vast majority of Americans.”
Whether there are 30 or 2 hours of post-cloture debate can have an impact. Elliot Mincberg, a senior fellow at People for the American Way, points out that senators have changed their mind on nominees during the 30-hour debate time that Republicans voted to eliminate.
Two Trump judicial nominees — Thomas Farr and Ryan Bounds — overcame the cloture hurdle in 2018 but during the allotted 30 hours of debate found there was insufficient support among Republicans to get them confirmed. Rather than reject them directly, the Senate did not hold a confirmation vote.
“It’s very important to point out…
