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How Killing The Filibuster Changed The Way Trump Is Filling His Cabinet
There's very little Democrats can do to kneecap President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks as confirmation hearings kick into gear later this month—and Trump knows it.
His will be the first Cabinet sworn in since Democrats went nuclear in 2013 and did away with the filibuster, which used to require 60 votes for confirmation of most presidential nominees. That change may have fundamentally changed the way the Cabinet nomination process is working, and congressional experts say the loss of the filibuster even may have influenced Trump's selection of nominees.
"For a typical president, knowing that there is at least that risk of a filibuster ...would have at least something of a tempering effect on who you nominate," Eric Schickler, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, told TPM. "What we're seeing with Trump, he's obviously chosen to nominate some people who are pretty far out there and his ability to succeed with that is higher in a world without the filibuster."
~~~
In the past, holding up Cabinet nominees with a filibuster had always been a rare occurrence. If nominees were blocked, it was usually because their nominations were pulled before senators could filibuster them from the floor. Now, with that leverage gone, Republican senators, Trump's transition team and the nominees themselves may be less inclined to accommodate requests from Democratic senators and undergo the kind of intense vetting that has become the hallmark of the confirmation process. Democrats already are bemoaning resistance from some of Trump's nominees to turn over tax returns and complete questionnaires.
more ~~~ http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/how-killing-the-fillibuster-changed-the-way-trump-is-filling-his-cabinet
His will be the first Cabinet sworn in since Democrats went nuclear in 2013 and did away with the filibuster, which used to require 60 votes for confirmation of most presidential nominees. That change may have fundamentally changed the way the Cabinet nomination process is working, and congressional experts say the loss of the filibuster even may have influenced Trump's selection of nominees.
"For a typical president, knowing that there is at least that risk of a filibuster ...would have at least something of a tempering effect on who you nominate," Eric Schickler, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, told TPM. "What we're seeing with Trump, he's obviously chosen to nominate some people who are pretty far out there and his ability to succeed with that is higher in a world without the filibuster."
~~~
In the past, holding up Cabinet nominees with a filibuster had always been a rare occurrence. If nominees were blocked, it was usually because their nominations were pulled before senators could filibuster them from the floor. Now, with that leverage gone, Republican senators, Trump's transition team and the nominees themselves may be less inclined to accommodate requests from Democratic senators and undergo the kind of intense vetting that has become the hallmark of the confirmation process. Democrats already are bemoaning resistance from some of Trump's nominees to turn over tax returns and complete questionnaires.
more ~~~ http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/how-killing-the-fillibuster-changed-the-way-trump-is-filling-his-cabinet
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