The Federal Tap: Senate changes precedent to limit post-cloture debate on most presidential nominees
From Ballotpedia
April 6, 2019Issue No. 155
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Tuesday, April 2
Detroit will host second set of Democratic presidential debates
- The Democratic National Committee announced that Detroit would host the second set of presidential debates on July 30-31, 2019. CNN will televise the event.
- Candidates can qualify for the debate through polling performance or fundraising from individual donors. Under the first option, a candidate must receive 1 percent support or more in three national or early state polls from a select list of organizations and institutions. Under the second option, a candidate must receive donations from at least 65,000 unique individual donors. Additionally, they must have a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states.
- No more than 20 candidates will be allowed to participate across the two days. Ballotpedia has tracked 11 presidential candidates who have qualified.
Former Sen. Mike Gravel enters the 2020 presidential race
- Former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) announced that he was running for president. He said he would remain in the race to participate in the debates before withdrawing and endorsing the most progressive candidate. “Our only aim is pushing the field left by appearing in the Democratic debates,” he tweeted.
Wednesday, April 3
Senate uses nuclear option to limit post-cloture debate on most presidential nominees
- The Senate voted 51-48 to reduce post-cloture debate on federal district court nominees from 30 hours to two hours (circuit court judges and Supreme Court justices still have 30 hour limits). The Senate made the same change for executive branch nominees below the Cabinet level.
- The two hour period begins after the Senate votes to invoke cloture—the process in which senators agree to end debate and bring a nomination or legislative act to a final vote. Cloture is often invoked to end procedural delay commonly known as a filibuster. It takes 51 votes to invoke cloture on a presidential nominee and 60 votes to invoke cloture on legislation.
- To enact this change, Senate Republicans used a parliamentary tactic known as the nuclear option: a procedure that allows the majority party to change a Senate precedent with a simple majority vote. Without the nuclear option, changing the Senate’s standing rules requires a two-thirds vote. On Tuesday, Republicans tried to pass the change in the form of a standing resolution, but they did not receive the required 60 votes. The term nuclear option was first coined in 2003 by Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.).
- To deploy the nuclear option, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raised a point of order during the consideration of Roy Altman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. His point of order stated that debate should be limited to two hours after cloture is invoked on a judicial nominee. After the presiding officer of the Senate ruled against McConnell’s point of order, 51 Senate Republicans--all except Susan Collins (R-Me.) and Mike Lee (R-Ut.)--voted to overrule the chair’s decision.
- Altman was the first judge to be confirmed under the new precedent. Altman is the first Trump judicial nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and brings its composition to seven Republican-appointed judges and seven Democratic-appointed judges. There are four other vacancies on the bench. Two Trump nominees who, like Altman, were nominated on May 7, 2018—Rodolfo Ruiz and Rodney Smith—are awaiting confirmation.
- McConnell said Senate Democrats were taking advantage of the 30-hour period to delay President Donald Trump’s nominees. In an April 1 op-ed, McConnell wrote, "The all-encompassing, systematic nature of this obstruction is not part of the Senate’s important tradition of minority rights. It is a new departure from that tradition. And this break with tradition is hurting the Senate, hamstringing our duly elected president, and denying citizens the government they elected."
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized the change. He said, “Two hours for a lifetime appointment is unacceptable. Two hours for a lifetime appointment with huge influence on people’s lives is unacceptable. It’s ridiculous.”
- Click here to read more about this story, including background, additional reactions, and the effect this change may have on the federal judiciary.
Thursday, April 4
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) declares 2020 presidential candidacy
- U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) announced that he was running for president. Ryan has served eight terms in the U.S. House and challenged Nancy Pelosi for House leadership in 2016. He said he would focus on connecting with blue collar workers. “I understand that legacy of job loss. I understand where we need to go. The country is so divided right now that we can't get a plan together. The first thing we have to do is unify,” Ryan said.
- What does it look like to run a campaign in today's climate? Join us as we speak with Jeff Roe, a strategist for the Republican Party, and Jeff Hewitt, a strategist for the Democratic Party, on the unique challenges of campaigning today.
- The session will be held on April 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Our director of outreach, Sarah Rosier, will lead the Q&A, asking questions such as: how do you think about boosting one candidate in a crowded field? If you're strategizing for the opposite party, how do you campaign against such a large field? How are the parties shifting in their messaging?
- Click here to register for free.
Friday, April 5
Sanders leads Democratic 1st quarter presidential fundraising so far with $18.2 million
- Four Democratic presidential candidates have announced their fundraising totals for the first quarter of 2019.
- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leads the pack with $18.2 million from 525,000 donors. The average donation was $20.
- Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) raised $9.4 million. The figure represents 18 days of fundraising since O’Rourke formally entered the race on March 14. The average donation was $43.
- South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised $7 million from 185,550 donors with an average donation of $36.
- Entrepreneur and author Andrew Yang raised $1.7 million from 80,000 donors. The average donation was less than $18.
Congress is in/out of session
The Senate will be in session April 8-12, and the House will be in session April 9-12. Click here to see the full calendar for the first session of the 116th Congress.
SCOTUS is out of session
The Supreme Court will be back to arguments on April 15. To learn more about this term, read our review.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Friday, April 12
PA-12 special election candidates will take part in candidate forum
- Penn State University professor Marc Friedenberg (D) and state Rep. Fred Keller (R) will participate in a candidate forum for the special election in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District. A debate is also scheduled May 2.
- The special election will be held on May 21 and is required to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of former Rep. Tom Marino (R) in January. Marino defeated Friedenberg by 32 points in November 2018.
- There are two other special elections scheduled to fill vacancies in U.S. House seats in 2019 - in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District and North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.
Where was the president last week?
- On Monday, Trump participated in the 2019 Prison Reform Summit.
- On Tuesday, Trump met with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- On Wednesday, Trump was briefed by senior military leaders.
- On Thursday, Trump met with the Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China.
- On Friday, Trump participated in a roundtable on immigration and border security in Calexico, CA.
Federal Judiciary
- 153 federal judicial vacancies
- 67 pending nominations
- 14 future federal judicial vacancies
About
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
