It’s a procedural rule change which has drawn a significant amount of criticism from Republicans.
However, the “nuclear option” filibuster rule change has yielded a small victory for Democrats.
Tuesday, the Senate voted 56-38 to confirm Patricia Millett as a judge to the powerful District of Columbia Circuit Court. Millett was the first of what could be perceived as a rash of appointments by President Barack Obama which previously stalled under the Senate’s age-old filibuster rule.
The new rule, passed last month, allows for only 51 votes to break a filibuster instead of the usual 60 required. The augmentation applies to all judicial nominees except the Supreme Court. The vacancy Millett will fill has been open since 2005.
“Ms. Millett is a leading appellate lawyer who has made 32 arguments before the Supreme Court, the second-most by a female advocate,” President Obama said in a statement. Senate Republicans have successfully filibustered 82 times during Obama’s presidency. That compares to a total of 86 filibusters under all other presidents.
“This gridlock has consequences. Terrible consequences,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in a statement.
Millett’s nomination, along with several other Obama conferees, have been stalled this year because Senate Democrats have lacked the 60 votes to break Republican filibusters.
OF NOTE: Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted in favor of Millett’s confirmation on Tuesday.
Matt Clark
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