Change the Rules
The U.S. Senate is once again set to change its own rules for confirming nominees to serve in the executive branch. While technically a change in Senate precedent rather than the chamber’s standing rules, Senate Republicans will deploy what is known procedurally as the “nuclear option” to change the pace at which nominees can be confirmed—this time by allowed a group of nominees to be confirmed “en bloc” rather than individually. There have been many changes to this process under the majority leadership of both parties, and all of the recent changes have been in the direction of making it more difficult to stop a president’s nominees—both judicial and executive.
Analysis and eternal perspective: The constitutional authority for the U.S. Senate to make these determinations is clear. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. Senate the power of “Advice and Consent,” and Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 gives both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate the power to “determine the Rules” for its own proceedings. As a result, both parties have in recent years exercised these authorities to speed along nominees made by a president aligned with the current Senate majority.
While the constitutionality of these actions is not in question, there is plenty of debate and disagreement about the prudence of them. Supporters say the real-world impact is a restoration of something closer to the historical norm of great deference being given to a sitting president. Detractors say it is an evisceration of minority rights critical for quelling the rule of the majority.
You, as a Jesus follower, are almost certain to at times find yourself aligned with the majority party or a pending nominee, and at others unaligned with one or both. Regardless of your current status, you should seek a multitude of godly counsel (Pr. 11:14) and expect the same of your elected leaders.
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.