GOP senators voted Wednesday to effectively change the rules by setting a new precedent on debate time
Senate Republicans moved ahead with deploying the “nuclear option” again Wednesday, this time following through on an effort to cut down on debate time for most of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
In an exercise that had far less suspense than when then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, made the move back in 2013, the Senate voted, 48-51, overturning the ruling of the presiding officer and setting a new precedent declaring that the remaining debate time for Jeffrey Kessler to be an assistant secretary of Commerce was two hours. A “no” vote was to overturn the presiding officer and establish the two-hour limit.
Senate rules had allowed for a maximum of 30 hours after cutting off debate, so the cut in deliberation time is drastic.
View the complete April 3 article by Niels Lesniewski on The Roll Call website here.