And this is how it happens. With thunderous applause.... (Marketwatch) - Reversing longstanding rules, 52 senators voted Thursday to allow simple majority votes on executive and judicial nominees. The proposed rule change – dubbed the “nuclear option” – was proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid after Republicans required several Obama nominees to meet a 60-vote threshold. Republicans decried Reid’s move and said Democrats would rue the day they were in the minority. Yellen’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve wasn’t expected to be blocked. She cleared the Senate Banking Committee earlier Thursday. But Watt’s nomination to head the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has hit a wall on Republican opposition. That nomination should go ahead now. And some have pointed out that the lower threshold will make it easier for Obama to nominate officials of his choice to the Fed, even if their views aren’t popular. Massad is Obama’s choice to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In brief remarks at the White House Thursday afternoon, Obama backed the changes and said the filibustering of nominees had gotten “completely out of hand.” Republicans, meanwhile, were quick to point out that Obama argued against the nuclear option when he was a senator back in 2005. In 2005 Obama said those considering the nuclear option should think about “Protecting Free And Democratic Debate” t.co/wLg0vvm1B9
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 06:19:24 +0000
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