by Philip Wegmann
| August 15, 2018 05:27 PM
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Conservatives can’t tell Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., just how grateful they are for confirming President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees. They just want him to do more for the lower court judges.
Democrats went nuclear when they were in control, allowing simple majorities for judicial confirmations. But this coalition of conservatives wants McConnell to launch a pinpoint, parliamentary strike. A dozen groups, led by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, are now asking the leader to limit debate on judicial nominees.
“The Senate’s procedural rules are being used to slow the judicial confirmation process, even for nominees who enjoy bipartisan support," their letter reads. "The rules currently require the Senate to consider a nominee for thirty hours after cloture is invoked,†the conservative coalition writes. “This time should be reduced to keep the process moving forward and to allow judicial nominees to be confirmed in a timely manner.â€
The letter, co-signed by the likes of Heritage Action and the Goldwater Institute, identifies a real problem for Republicans. McConnell might be master of the Senate but Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been able to gum up the works all the same. At the time of the letter’s publication, there were approximately 152 vacancies on the federal judiciary and 85 pending nominations.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/conservative-coalition-asks-mcconnell-to-change-senate-rules-speed-up-judicial-confirmations
