Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid knows the rules, procedures, and tactics of the Senate like the back of his hand. I’m convinced he could recite them back to you should you have the time to listen. And once again, Senator Reid may have just found a way around the impasse over the nomination of Merrick Garland to the United States Supreme Court.
What does Reid have up his sleeve? Well, it’s known as a “discharge resolution,” and it could well pave a road completely around Senate Republicans–including Majority Leader Mitch “Turtle” McConnell–and frustrate the GOP yet again as we move deeper into this election year.
Senator Reid gave hints that he might have a secret plan when he noted:
“There are many procedural things we can do.”
A discharge resolution would function in this case as so: A Democratic senator would make a motion of a resolution to “discharge Garland’s nomination from the Judiciary Committee. What this means is that the nomination would be moved into an executive session, which completely overrides the 60-vote minimum needed to do so.
And while the majority of Republicans have refused to even meet with Judge Garland, let alone give him a confirmation hearing, 17 have broken ranks with the GOP and had meetings with the judge. The Garland matter could also be a drag on Republican Senators who are facing tough reelection campaigns. Reid is only too aware of this, too, commenting:
‘We feel we’re making progress. No one thought he would have a race. This is a real drag on the Republicans.’
Reid added:
“The obligation is for them to hold hearings and to have a vote. That’s in the Constitution. Right now, we think we’re in a good place. The pressure’s on them, not on us.”
That pressure is growing with each day. Harry Reid is playing this beautifully, and he may wind up getting the result most thought impossible a month ago. Stay tuned.
Featured Image Via Flickr available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License
