Will Democrats filibuster Trump's Supreme Court nominee? If they do, the GOP might nuke the filibuster.
Democrats are squirming at the thought of Donald Trump's upcoming opportunity to nominate a justice for the Supreme Court. And while they're thinking about giving the Republicans a taste of their own medicine by obstructing any nominee, it could come with a potentially crippling cost.
The Democrats are still smarting over their counterparts' treatment of President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, who despite being nominated in February has still not gotten a congressional confirmation hearing. But payback in the form of a filibuster of Trump's nominee could cost Democrats the tools they have left as a minority, Politico reports. Currently, the Senate requires a 60-vote minimum to confirm a Supreme Court nominee, a practice that the Republicans have threatened to end if the Democratss don't play ball.
"We're going to confirm the president's nominee one way or the other. And there's an easy way and there's a hard way," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) has said.
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Read more about the threat to the filibuster, and what it could mean for Trump's Supreme Court nominees, at Politico.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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