Jul 16, 2007
Ignoring Congressional Norms
A disturbing item from this morning’s Roll Call on the continuing breakdown of congressional norms.
Erin Billings reports, “Barring an unlikely confirmation of Leslie Southwick to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the Judiciary Committee this week, Senate GOP leaders have privately mapped out a retaliatory plan that involves blocking passage of Democratic legislation from now until the August recess.”
This is an extraordinary plan, tantamount to legislative blackmail. The issue is not (as sometimes occurred both earlier this decade and in the 1990s) committed ideological minorities of the Senate using the rules to prevent a nomination from coming to a vote. In this case, Republican senators have urged delay, in a thus-far unsuccessful attempt to persuade committee Democrats to support Southwick’s nomination.
To date, a majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee appears intent on casting “no” votes against Southwick, which would ordinarily doom the nomination. Yet Senate Republicans argue otherwise.
Thad Cochran: “The Senate should consider this. It’s a question that ought to be decided by the Senate, not by a few members of one committee.”
Arlen Specter: “Let the full Senate vote on it. That’s what the Constitution says — the Senate, not the committee, has the power to confirm or reject. If he loses, I’ll abide by the will of the body, but I’m not going to sit still and allow him to be bottled up in committee.”
Yet on lower-court judicial nominees, a negative vote of the Judiciary Committee has traditionally killed nominations. Senate Republicans are thus arguing that they want to change how the upper chamber normally functions, effectively demanding the bypassing of the Judiciary Committee on judicial nominations, and arguing that if the majority of the committee doesn’t go along with them, they’ll exact retribution.
This is a troubling way to do business.
Erin Billings reports, “Barring an unlikely confirmation of Leslie Southwick to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the Judiciary Committee this week, Senate GOP leaders have privately mapped out a retaliatory plan that involves blocking passage of Democratic legislation from now until the August recess.”
This is an extraordinary plan, tantamount to legislative blackmail. The issue is not (as sometimes occurred both earlier this decade and in the 1990s) committed ideological minorities of the Senate using the rules to prevent a nomination from coming to a vote. In this case, Republican senators have urged delay, in a thus-far unsuccessful attempt to persuade committee Democrats to support Southwick’s nomination.
To date, a majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee appears intent on casting “no” votes against Southwick, which would ordinarily doom the nomination. Yet Senate Republicans argue otherwise.
Thad Cochran: “The Senate should consider this. It’s a question that ought to be decided by the Senate, not by a few members of one committee.”
Arlen Specter: “Let the full Senate vote on it. That’s what the Constitution says — the Senate, not the committee, has the power to confirm or reject. If he loses, I’ll abide by the will of the body, but I’m not going to sit still and allow him to be bottled up in committee.”
Yet on lower-court judicial nominees, a negative vote of the Judiciary Committee has traditionally killed nominations. Senate Republicans are thus arguing that they want to change how the upper chamber normally functions, effectively demanding the bypassing of the Judiciary Committee on judicial nominations, and arguing that if the majority of the committee doesn’t go along with them, they’ll exact retribution.
This is a troubling way to do business.