Washington : The Democrat majority in the Senate has pushed through a major rules change, one that curbs the power of the Republican minority to block President Barack Obama's nominations for high-level judgeships and cabinet and agency officials.
The move was certain to only deepen the partisan divide that has crippled passage of legislation.
Infuriated over repeated Republican blocks of Obama candidates for critical judgeships, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took the dramatic step Thursday, calling it “simple fairness” because the change would work in Republicans' favor whenever they regain the White House and a Senate majority.
Current Senate rules allowed any one member of the chamber, using a tactic called a filibuster, to block a president's nominations unless 60 of the 100 Senators vote to move forward with the nomination. The 60-vote threshold has proven difficult for Democrats to assemble given they hold only a 55-45 edge over the Republicans in a hyper-partisan political climate and stalemated Congress.
“The gears of government have to work,” Obama said shortly after the Senate vote. In a brief White House appearance to congratulate his fellow Democrats, Obama complained that the old filibuster rule allowed opposition senators to avoid voting their conscience on legislation on which a yes vote could put them under attack from the far rightwing of the party.
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