GoUBears, below is my draft of a letter to Russ Feingold, who as president of the ACS writes excellent blogs about America’s judiciary and President Biden’s and Democrats’ fight to improve it. (But I haven’t found his email address.)
Perhaps you can share some insights on the questions I raise?
GoUBears, below is my draft of a letter to Russ Feingold, who as president of the ACS writes excellent blogs about America’s judiciary and President Biden’s and Democrats’ fight to improve it. (But I haven’t found his email address.)
Perhaps you can share some insights on the questions I raise?
.
Re: SENATE CONFIRMATION OF JUDGES
There has been lots of focus on Blue Slips, but I believe it would be valuable with a column that highlights and explains Senate rules, and explores what Democrats can and cannot do to hasten the confirmation of judges. Russ Feingold’s last “In Brief” column was “Judges and Democracy” on 26 January. I believe it is time for a new blog entry.
Can Chairman Dick Durbin call extra committee hearings for nominated judges, and Executive Meetings to vote on them? Why have so many Executive Meetings been cancelled?
Why doesn’t Majority Leader Chuck Schumer file far more cloture motions on judges? Can Schumer file cloture motions on all judges who are awaiting floor votes? Why not at least file cloture motions on a handful of judges at the end of each week?
If multiple cloture motions are ripe, can Schumer choose which cloture and confirmation votes to bring up – taking advantage of known Senate absences? Does each specific vote need to be announced ahead of time? Does Minority Leader McConnell have to concur?
Can uncontroversial or less-controversial judges be voted on en bloc?
Is there any objective reason why Senate votes often take an hour or more?
Who are the worst culprits that cause such lengthy votes? Why not more discipline, at least amongst the Democratic caucus?
What power does Schumer have to shorten the voting time? The Senate does occasionally have very short votes (30-, 20-, even 10-minute votes). How is this enabled? Can the Majority Leader demand this for cloture and confirmation votes on judicial nominations?
Can Schumer just say: The Senate WILL hold these three confirmation votes before we adjourn this Thursday afternoon – so it is in everyone’s interest that we vote quickly.
What would it take for the Senate to introduce electronic voting.
How about actual roll-call votes where, if your name is called three times without response, then your vote is not registered?
Would it be an advantage for the full Democratic caucus to “sponsor” each of the judicial nominations? And then quickly enter their votes so the count is waiting only for Republicans?
Are there other Senate rules that slow down the pace of judicial confirmations? Are there rules that could be exploited to hasten the confirmations?
The answer to many of those questions boils down to the sheer amount of power held by the minority leader. So much of what the senate does is done by unanimous consent, and the minority leader essentially has as much power as the majority leader, except with regard to what comes to the floor. They could gum things up so badly, and the only reason they don't is the threat of retribution from their counterpart when their fortunes are reversed. Much should be modernized about the senate (electronic voting with correspondingly streamlined voting timelines, elimination of cloture votes at least when the threshold is 50), and having Manchin out of the caucus will make achieving that easier. We shall see in the coming years who the next rung of remaining traditionalists are.
The rules are 400-odd pages long and don't clarify much if you read them. I remember Martin Gold's Senate Procedure and Practice being enlightening, though it's remarkable how much they've jacked up the price for the current edition.
I see that it’s affordable used through Abe Books. Do you recommend it for a non-specialist? Would it address my questions any more concretely than you have already done?
Can't really say, it's been 15-plus years since I've read it and I'm not sure how much they change from one edition to the next. It's not an exciting read, but it did give me a fundamental understanding of the senate in a way that other works failed to.
GoUBears, below is my draft of a letter to Russ Feingold, who as president of the ACS writes excellent blogs about America’s judiciary and President Biden’s and Democrats’ fight to improve it. (But I haven’t found his email address.)
Perhaps you can share some insights on the questions I raise?
.
Re: SENATE CONFIRMATION OF JUDGES
There has been lots of focus on Blue Slips, but I believe it would be valuable with a column that highlights and explains Senate rules, and explores what Democrats can and cannot do to hasten the confirmation of judges. Russ Feingold’s last “In Brief” column was “Judges and Democracy” on 26 January. I believe it is time for a new blog entry.
Can Chairman Dick Durbin call extra committee hearings for nominated judges, and Executive Meetings to vote on them? Why have so many Executive Meetings been cancelled?
Why doesn’t Majority Leader Chuck Schumer file far more cloture motions on judges? Can Schumer file cloture motions on all judges who are awaiting floor votes? Why not at least file cloture motions on a handful of judges at the end of each week?
If multiple cloture motions are ripe, can Schumer choose which cloture and confirmation votes to bring up – taking advantage of known Senate absences? Does each specific vote need to be announced ahead of time? Does Minority Leader McConnell have to concur?
Can uncontroversial or less-controversial judges be voted on en bloc?
SENATE CONFIRMATION OF JUDGES (continued)
Is there any objective reason why Senate votes often take an hour or more?
Who are the worst culprits that cause such lengthy votes? Why not more discipline, at least amongst the Democratic caucus?
What power does Schumer have to shorten the voting time? The Senate does occasionally have very short votes (30-, 20-, even 10-minute votes). How is this enabled? Can the Majority Leader demand this for cloture and confirmation votes on judicial nominations?
Can Schumer just say: The Senate WILL hold these three confirmation votes before we adjourn this Thursday afternoon – so it is in everyone’s interest that we vote quickly.
What would it take for the Senate to introduce electronic voting.
How about actual roll-call votes where, if your name is called three times without response, then your vote is not registered?
Would it be an advantage for the full Democratic caucus to “sponsor” each of the judicial nominations? And then quickly enter their votes so the count is waiting only for Republicans?
Are there other Senate rules that slow down the pace of judicial confirmations? Are there rules that could be exploited to hasten the confirmations?
The answer to many of those questions boils down to the sheer amount of power held by the minority leader. So much of what the senate does is done by unanimous consent, and the minority leader essentially has as much power as the majority leader, except with regard to what comes to the floor. They could gum things up so badly, and the only reason they don't is the threat of retribution from their counterpart when their fortunes are reversed. Much should be modernized about the senate (electronic voting with correspondingly streamlined voting timelines, elimination of cloture votes at least when the threshold is 50), and having Manchin out of the caucus will make achieving that easier. We shall see in the coming years who the next rung of remaining traditionalists are.
Interesting. I tried to find answers to some of my questions in the Senate Rules. Regrettably, I became none the wiser.
The rules are 400-odd pages long and don't clarify much if you read them. I remember Martin Gold's Senate Procedure and Practice being enlightening, though it's remarkable how much they've jacked up the price for the current edition.
I see that it’s affordable used through Abe Books. Do you recommend it for a non-specialist? Would it address my questions any more concretely than you have already done?
Can't really say, it's been 15-plus years since I've read it and I'm not sure how much they change from one edition to the next. It's not an exciting read, but it did give me a fundamental understanding of the senate in a way that other works failed to.