Nomination Struggles in the Post-nuclear Senate
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Emily M. Cottle
Abstract
Three times in the last decade Senate majorities have re-interpreted the rules of the Senate to limit the ability of Senate minorities to obstruct presidential nominees. Each of these invocations of the so called nuclear option have either reduced the threshold of votes needed to invoke cloture on a nominee or shortened the amount of post-cloture debate on nominees. In the current Senate, cloture can be invoked on nominees with a simple majority vote and most nominees are subject to only two hours of post-cloture debate. Despite these re-interpretations of the Senate’s rules, presidents are still struggling to secure confirmation for many of their nominees. As of this writing, fewer than 40% of President Biden’s nominations have secured confirmation, and more than 140 who have cleared committee are awaiting floor action in the Senate. We explore the factors that are inhibiting the confirmation process and discuss potential changes in the process that could expedite the confirmation of executive nominations.
© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Introduction: Volume 19 No. 4: The US Senate
- Articles
- The Rising Electoral Role of Polarization & Implications for Policymaking in the United States Senate: Assessing the Consequences of Polarization in the Senate from 1914–2020
- Senate Republican Radicalism and the Need for Filibuster Reform
- The Distortions and Realities of the Senate’s Constitutional Purpose: Setting the Record Straight on “Senate Exceptionalism”
- “A Free-Range Chicken that Can Run Wherever the Majority Wants It To”: Budget Reconciliation and the Contemporary U.S. Senate
- Nomination Struggles in the Post-nuclear Senate
- Marching (Senate Style) Towards Majority Rule
- One Obstacle among Many: The Filibuster and Majority Party Agendas
- Get Out of the Way: Joe Biden, the U.S. Congress, and Executive-Centered Partisanship During the President’s First Year in Office
- Book Reviews
- Adam Hilton: Review of True Blues: The Contentious Transformation of the Democratic Party
- Angie Maxwell and Todd Shields: The Long Southern Strategy: How Chasing White Voters in the South Changed American Politics
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Introduction: Volume 19 No. 4: The US Senate
- Articles
- The Rising Electoral Role of Polarization & Implications for Policymaking in the United States Senate: Assessing the Consequences of Polarization in the Senate from 1914–2020
- Senate Republican Radicalism and the Need for Filibuster Reform
- The Distortions and Realities of the Senate’s Constitutional Purpose: Setting the Record Straight on “Senate Exceptionalism”
- “A Free-Range Chicken that Can Run Wherever the Majority Wants It To”: Budget Reconciliation and the Contemporary U.S. Senate
- Nomination Struggles in the Post-nuclear Senate
- Marching (Senate Style) Towards Majority Rule
- One Obstacle among Many: The Filibuster and Majority Party Agendas
- Get Out of the Way: Joe Biden, the U.S. Congress, and Executive-Centered Partisanship During the President’s First Year in Office
- Book Reviews
- Adam Hilton: Review of True Blues: The Contentious Transformation of the Democratic Party
- Angie Maxwell and Todd Shields: The Long Southern Strategy: How Chasing White Voters in the South Changed American Politics
