This past weekend, President Donald J. Trump officially nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg’s passing opens up one of the four spots held by justices nominated by Democrats. As expected, the possibility of a 6-3 conservative majority on the court has progressives in battle mode.
Senate Democrats are particularly worried about progressive legal policy victories since the Warren Court, such as Roe v. Wade.
If the Brett Kavanaugh hearings were any indicator, Senate Democrats will resort to any tactics to protect their “democratic” legal regime protecting extra-constitutional rights. A September 27th POLITICO article lays out some of their strategy using Senate rules and processes:
- The “two-hour rule”: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer intends to use the “two-hour rule,” which can limit committee hearings after the Senate has been in session for more than two hours. Schumer first initiated this rule by cancelling an important hearing with one of the nation’s top counterintelligence officials, William Evanina; Senator Rubio referred to this move as a “temper tantrum.”
- Slowing down legislative business: Because Congress is almost always dysfunctional, Senate leaders frequently rely on “unanimous consent” to pass bills. Last week, Democrats refused to oblige by “unanimous consent” norms, which forced Senate Leader McConnell to keep senators in Washington to vote on a government funding bill.
- Object to recess: Democratic senators could object to recessing. “When the Senate concludes its business for the day, it requires the consent of all 100 senators.”
- Deny a quorum: The Senate requires a quorum to conduct business and any senator can request a “quorum call.” Senate Democrats could request a quorum call and if any Republican senators are missing then “Democrats could boycott the quorum call.”…