Jon Kyl: “I want to respond to a statement that the Senior Senator from West Virginia made yesterday. In his remarks, the Senator…”

“I want to respond to a statement that the Senior Senator from West Virginia made yesterday. In his remarks, the Senator conceded the legitimacy of the constitutional option, what he called the ``nuclear option,'' as a way for the Senate to determine its practices and procedures. The option is, of course, the leader's right to obtain a ruling from the presiding officer that certain actions of Senators are dilatory and cannot preclude the Senate from voting on a judicial nomination. Here is what he said: ``The so-called nuclear option has been around for a long time. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.'' He went on to explain that this constitutional option had been available since at least 1917, and he repeatedly emphasized that this tool has been around ``for a long time.'' I appreciate this acknowledgment from the Senator from West Virginia, because I know he has studied the history of the Senate, and I know he has intimate familiarity with the workings of the Constitutional Option. There is nothing new about the constitutional option, as I discussed in my May 19 floor speech outlining the legal and constitutional rationale for its exercise. The constitutional option is simply the Senate's exercise of its power to define its own procedures--a power that comes directly from the Constitution and has been affirmed by the Supreme Court. (U.S. v. Ballin, 144 U.S. 1 (1892)) I appreciate that the Senator has acknowledged its legitimacy.…”