Heidi Alexander: “I am especially pleased to see that the Senator from Utah is presiding this afternoon because I come to the floor today…”

“I am especially pleased to see that the Senator from Utah is presiding this afternoon because I come to the floor today to offer a resolution which is his inspiration, really, and on which I am pleased to be working with him. Simply put, this is a resolution to establish a majority vote on Presidential nominations. This would establish by rule the Senate tradition of approving Presidential nominations by a simple majority vote. The rules change we propose would establish by rule this tradition of approving Presidential nominations of Cabinet Members and judges by a simple majority vote, which existed from the time Thomas Jefferson wrote the rules in 1789 until 2003, when Democrats began filibustering Federal Circuit Court of Appeals nominees. Most importantly, it would change the rules in the right way, through a two-thirds vote, which is what the existing rules of the Senate provide. Unfortunately, on November 21, 2013, Democrats broke the Senate rules without even attempting to get the 67 votes required to change the rules, which caused former Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, to say at the time, quoting former Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan, that ``if a majority of the Senate can change its rules at any time, there are no rules.'' We are the Nation's rulemaking body. If we cannot follow our own rules, how can we expect the American people to show respect for and follow the rules we help to create?…”