Senate

The Feinstein Situation Shows the Senate Dems Have No Plan

by Norman Ornstein

After 9/11, a joint committee formed by two prominent think tanks studied how the Senate could deal with large-scale incapacitation of Senators through temporary replacements. The COVID pandemic and the aging of the Senators make those recommendations, still unfulfilled, more urgent than ever. 

Between Feinstein and the Blue Slip, Senate Dems Making Historic Blunders on Judiciary

Barack Obama's administration left dozens of vacant federal judgeships for Donald Trump to fill. If the Biden administration repeats this, it won't be only due to Republican obstruction of nominees. 

In a Final Act, Can Bernie Sanders Make Senate Hearings a Catalyst for Left Populism?

If the Vermont Senator has failed to win the presidency or to rally the Democratic establishment to his positions, he may yet be able to force CEOs to answer questions publicly about how their business practices harm workers, consumers, and the environment. Will it inspire a left turn in the electorate? 

Why is a Senate Office Building Still Named for an Unrepentant Segregationist and White Supremacist?

Texas Senator Ted Cruz decried efforts to "sanitize history" and argued that "the journey of the United States has been a steady journey toward freedom" by way of explaining why he did not support removing segregationist Senator Richard Russell's name from a Senate office building. But few Democrats will candidly support change either.

Does Sen. Fetterman's Depression Disclosure Signal Change in Mental Health Acceptance?

by Jonathan Sadowsky

51 years ago the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Senator Thomas Eagleton, was dropped from the ticket when it was revealed he had received treatment for depression. A historian of mental health says it's too simple to declare progress without acknowledging ongoing stigma. 

The Racist Origins of Georgia's Runoff System

by Steven F. Lawson

Runoff elections were installed in Georgia to ensure that Black voters could not elect their preferred candidates, allowing white voters a second chance to consolidate support around white candidates. 

Historic Echoes as Mississippi Senators Vote No on Jackson Nomination

Did some statements made by Republicans echo Senator James Eastland's questioning whether Thurgood Marshall was "prejudiced against the white people of the South"? 

KBJ Confirmation Questions Show Republicans Willing to Throw Out Vast Swaths of Civil Rights Law

by Heather Cox Richardson

"Madison was on to something when he warned that there was a connection between establishing a religion and destroying American democracy."

12 Questions that Would Actually Help Us Learn Something about Ketanji Brown Jackson

Legal historians, law professors, and other scholars propose productive questions Senators could ask Biden's Supreme Court nominee, if they cared to stop grandstanding and speechifying.

Sen. Ron Johnson Blocks Lipstadt Nomination to Global Antisemitism Panel

The Wisconsin Republican instead met with representatives of the trucker protest convoy. 

Will Senate Move Deborah Lipstadt Appointment to Global Antisemitism Panel?

Leading American Jewish organizations have stressed the need for leadership and scholarship in the face of antisemitic incidents worldwide, and urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance Dr. Lipstadt's nomination. 

The Filibuster Protects the Powerful, Not Vulnerable Minorities

by Ben Railton

The regular use of the filibuster in the 20th century paralleled its use as a tool to frustrate the political goals of labor and civil rights activists.

Ornstein: Five Filibuster Myths

"Supporters of the status quo have their reasons, many of them caught up in myths about the history of the Constitution and the Senate’s role."

Biden to Endorse Changing Filibuster Rules for Voting Rights Legislation

The President is expected to endorse limited changes to the filibuster rules to enable a straight majority vote on voting rights legislation, while perserving the filibuster for other legislation. 

Bob Dole: RIP to an Organization Man and Veteran

by Matthew Cooper

A veteran political reporter acknowledges that the late Senator and presidential candidate could be a tough partisan, but was devoted to fighting within the rules of procedure. 

West Virginia's Founding Politicians Understood Democracy Better than Today's

by Daniel W. Sunshine

The filibuster, as currently constructed, violates what West Virginia founder Waitman Willey described as “the great fundamental political right of the majority to rule.” West Virginia’s quest to improve their democracy offers lessons on how to heal our own.

How Did the Senate Get Supermajority Gridlock?

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

The framers clearly intended for majority rule in the passage of legislation in the Senate. So how did we get to the point where a majority can't do anything? 

Mint the Coin: The Debt Ceiling is an Absurd Problem. It's Time for an Absurd Solution

by Zachary D. Carter

Silly as it sounds, minting a trillion dollar coin is the solution to the recurrent ordeal of the debt ceiling. It's legal, it's sensible, and it's not more ridiculous than using the prospect of default as a political club. 

The Disturbing Precedent for McConnell’s Debt-Ceiling Brinksmanship

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

Mitch McConnell's use of Senate rules and the body's disproportionate representation to ensure that Democrats who represent 41.5 million more people than Republicans are unable to govern. His tactics echo those of the antebellum Slavocracy. 

No, John Calhoun Didn't Invent the Filibuster

by Robert Elder

A new book castigating the filibuster traces it back to the parliamentary maneuvers of pro-slavery ideologue John C. Calhoun. One needn't embrace either Calhoun or the filibuster to recognize this is historically incorrect.