Senate Democrats weakened the filibuster as they clearly tired over Republicans holding up confirming judicial nominations.
According to The Washington Post, the recent issue was the blocking of three nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The D.C. Circuit is often referred to as the second most important court, after the Supreme Court. For two decades the court has often been pro-business and other Republican ideals. "Exactly the kind of decisions that Republicans love," Drew Courtney, of advocacy group People for the American Way, said. "And they want to keep it that way.
Republicans blocked Robert L. Wilkins, Patricia A. Millett and Cornelia Pillard over the past month as they each came up for confirmation.
President Barack Obama said in a White House statement that Republicans were "standing in the way of a fully functioning judiciary."
Fox News reports Majority Leader Harry Reid went "nuclear" and passed a change to the filibuster rule that only 51 votes are needed to break the it, instead of 60. The change passed 52-48.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proclaimed it was "a sad day in the history of the Senate." House Speaker John Boehner said, "It sounds to me like Harry Reid is trying to change the subject and if I were taking all the incoming fire that he's taking over Obamacare, I'd try to change the subject too."
image: Wikimedia Commons
