Senate Deploys 'Nuclear Option,' Weakens Filibuster

Dave Iverson

Nov 22, 2013 at

Save Article

Failed to save article

Please try again

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In an historic shift on Thursday, the Senate voted 52-48 to eliminate the filibuster for most presidential nominations. Prompted by Senate Republicans’ decision to stall three nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the new rules will allow a filibuster to be broken by simple majority. Supporters say the change will eliminate obstructionism. Opponents call it a power grab. We explore the history of the filibuster and the implications of the rule change.

More: ‘Nuclear Option’ Vote Marks Tectonic Shift in Senate Rules (NPR)

Guests:

Ron Elving, senior Washington editor for NPR News

Gregory Koger, associate professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of "Filibustering: A Political History of Obstruction in the House and Senate"

Thomas Mann, senior fellow, governance studies at the Brookings Institution and co-author of "It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the Politics of Extremism"

Sponsored

lower waypoint

next waypoint

California PUC Considers New Fixed Charge for Electricity Oakland’s Leila Mottley on Her Debut Collection of Poetry ‘woke up no light’Alice Wong Redefines ‘Disability Intimacy’ in New Anthology How a Massive California Prison Hunger Strike Overhauled Solitary Confinement How to Spend this Summer Camping California KQED Series ‘Beyond the Menu’ Tells the Backstory of Food Inside Mexico's Clandestine Drug Treatment Centers What’s Next for Pro-Palestinian Campus Protests Violence Escalates in Sudan as Civil War Enters Second Year City Lights Chief Book Buyer Paul Yamazaki on a Half Century Spent “Reading the Room”