{"id":27709,"date":"2017-04-07T05:30:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T09:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=27709"},"modified":"2017-04-07T12:11:09","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T16:11:09","slug":"dems-force-nuclear-option-on-gorsuch-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2017\/04\/dems-force-nuclear-option-on-gorsuch-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Dems force “nuclear option” and Gorsuch is confirmed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Operation_Upshot-Knothole_-_Badger_001<\/a>The Democrats invoked their filibuster privilege to block the vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. \u00a0So the Republicans used the so-called \u201cnuclear option.\u201d \u00a0They changed the rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. \u00a0The Democrats, under a previous administration, themselves went nuclear to eliminate the filibuster for other presidential nominations.<\/p>\n

Now the Senate cannot block any presidential appointments. \u00a0But the Democrats can feel good about themselves. \u00a0(\u201cTake that, Republicans! \u00a0I guess we showed you, Donald Trump!\u201d) \u00a0Even though the gesture\u00a0significantly weakens their power in the Senate.<\/p>\n

\n

UPDATE: \u00a0The Senate has confirmed Judge Gorsuch\u00a0for the Supreme Court.<\/a><\/p>\n

From Ed O\u2019Keefe, \u00a0Senate Republicans go \u2018nuclear,\u2019 pave the way for Gorsuch confirmation to Supreme Court \u2013 The Washington Post<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

Senators voted on Thursday to advance Judge Neil Gorsuch\u2019s nomination to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up a final confirmation vote on Friday.<\/p>\n

By a vote of to 55 to 45, all Republicans and three Democrats voted to proceed to final debate on the nomination of Gorsuch, 49, a Denver-based judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. If confirmed, Gorsuch would replace the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, who died unexpectedly last year, sparking a more than year-long feud among senators about the future makeup of the high court.<\/p>\n

Gorsuch\u2019s nomination advanced shortly after Republicans successfully voted to approve what is known as the \u201cnuclear option,\u201d changing Senate rules to allow the confirmation of Gorsuch and all other Supreme Court nominees by a simple-majority vote.<\/p>\n

The long-anticipated change came after Democrats earlier blocked attempts to advance Gorsuch\u2019s nomination. The change now means that all presidential nominees for executive branch positions and federal courts need only a simple-majority vote to be confirmed by senators.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of National Nuclear Security Administration \/ Nevada Site Office [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Democrats invoked their filibuster privilege to block the vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. \u00a0So the Republicans used the so-called \u201cnuclear option.\u201d \u00a0They changed the rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. \u00a0The Democrats, under a previous administration, themselves went nuclear to eliminate the filibuster for other presidential nominations. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,36],"tags":[657,836,5175,1993,5296],"class_list":["post-27709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","category-politics","tag-democrats","tag-filibuster","tag-judge-neil-gorsuch","tag-senate","tag-senate-democrats"],"yoast_head":"\nDems force "nuclear option" and Gorsuch is confirmed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Democrats filibustered the Gorsuch confirmation vote, so Republicans invoked the "nuclear option." 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