In 2013, then-Majority Leader Harry Reid passed the dreaded rule known as the “nuclear option”, allowing President Obama’s nominees to be passed by a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes normally required to do business in the Senate. This rule change is something that Senate leaders of either party would always threaten in the face of partisan opposition or filibuster, but never acted on, until Reid finally pulled the trigger.
This rule change was used by the Democrats in 2013, allowing them to jam through President Obama’s executive and judicial nominees. However, now with Republicans preparing to control Congress and the White House, the Democrats are worried that Reid’s move might have backfired, the Daily Caller reports.
Current Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may look to invoke the rule to bypass obstruction from across the aisle when it comes time to confirm President-elect Trump’s eventual Supreme Court nominee. As one Democratic political strategist said in 2013, “there’s no question that we will one day come to regret this.”
Looks like that day may have already come.
