Cardin Says Filibuster Rule Was Abused, Change Was Necessary

The historic rule change in the US Senate on Thursday allows a simple majority of 51 senators to bring judicial and executive nominees to a floor vote — killing the 60-vote filibuster rule that has been in place since the late 1700s — but rarely invoked until President Barrack Obama took office in 2009.

The decision by the Democratic controlled Senate to kill the filibuster comes after four years of Republicans denying President Obama an up-or-down floor vote on almost every nominee. The obstructionist path of the Republican minority in the Senate had left a slew of long-term vacancies in the courts.

“The Senate is supposed to be the world’s greatest deliberative body,” said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md, in a press release on Friday. ” We are supposed to be able to debate issues but then come together to find a compromise that moves our country forward. The Senate is broken. Our rules of consensus and comity have been abused.  Respecting the Senate’s Constitutional duty of Advise and Consent with respect to the President’s nominees doesn’t mean automatic confirmation, but it does mean that we should respect the process, the presidency, and these individuals enough to routinely give them an up-or-down vote.”

“I have been in the Congress sufficient years to have served in the majority and the minority,” Cardin said. “I understand the consequences of changing the rules, but what we are doing is returning to where the Senate can actually fulfill its Constitutional responsibilities.”

Cardin’s statement comes a day after Senate Majority Harry Reid made a case on the Senate floor to kill the 60-vote rule.

“Only 23 district court nominees have been filibustered in the entire history of this country [and] 20 of them have been in the last four-and-a-half years.” Reid said. “The need for change is obvious. In the history of the Republic, there have been 168 filibusters of executive and judicial nominations. Half of them have occurred during the Obama Administration. These nominees deserve at least an up-or-down vote — but Republican filibusters deny them a fair vote and deny the President his team.”

In making the rule change, Reid acknowledged that Democrats were also guilty of abusing the filibuster rule — but said the change would bring fairness to both parties in the Senate.

“The Senate must evolve to meet the challenges of a modern era,” Reid said. “This change to the rules regarding presidential nominees will apply equally to both parties. When Republicans are in power, these changes will apply to them as well.  That’s simple fairness. And it’s something both sides should be willing to live with to make Washington work again.”

The rule change does not apply to Supreme Court nominees.