Padilla Statement on Senate Republicans’ Threat to Go Nuclear on Senate Rulebook to Expedite Trump’s Nominees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, issued the following statement as Senate Republicans threaten to cave to President Trump and unilaterally rewrite the Senate rulebook once again to expedite the confirmation of Trump’s extreme nominees:
“Facing Trump’s latest demands to fast track his extreme and blindly obedient nominees, Senate Republicans are considering blowing up the Senate rules yet again.
“We can and should have thoughtful, bipartisan conversations in the Rules Committee on updating the confirmation process for the future, but Republicans should keep in mind that if they choose to go nuclear — yet again — it will have consequences long beyond Donald Trump’s presidency.”
Senate Republicans’ willingness to go nuclear on Senate filibuster rules to unilaterally push through Trump’s nominees marks a change from their stance during a bipartisan Senate Rules Committee hearing last year on reforming the Senate confirmation process, which took place before the election. While Democrats emphasized the importance of making any changes to the process ahead of the presidential election to avoid partisan advantage, Senate Republicans turned down the opportunity for bipartisan reform.
Now that they are in power, Republicans are threatening to go nuclear on the Senate rules for the third time in six months. In May, the Republican majority utilized the nuclear option for the first time to eliminate a legislative filibuster for three joint resolutions on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers issued to California under the Clean Air Act. Last month, Senate Republicans shredded longstanding filibuster rules again by bypassing budget reconciliation restrictions with a fabricated, partisan budget score, abusing Sec. 312(a) of the Congressional Budget Act.
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