U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attends President Biden‘s Inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20.
The new President Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees are facing challenges before a bipartisan agreement on power sharing in the U.S. Senate.
The number of bipartisan votes in the new Senate has become a 50-to-50 tie, with the vice president having a key vote; but with bipartisan negotiations on a power-sharing agreement deadlocked and inconclusive, Republicans will continue to chair key committees and have the power to set the agenda.
This means that new President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees could face a bumpy road ahead.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing Thursday morning (Jan. 21) on the certification of Biden’s nominee for secretary of transportation, Pete Buttigieg, was still chaired by Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, with Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, serving as the ranking Democratic member.
What is a power-sharing agreement? It’s when the two parties in the Senate agree on the number of seats each will hold on each Senate committee. In the absence of an agreement, the Senate would operate under the same rules as the previous Congress, meaning that the Republican-controlled Senate majority would be carried over from the previous term, with Republicans still serving as committee chairs.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are discussing a power-sharing agreement, but the two are at an impasse over retaining and repealing existing “Filibuster” rules.
“Filibuster is the right of individuals in the chamber to prolong debate or block proposals, often delaying the event of a vote on a bill and paralyzing the proceedings.
In 1917, the Senate introduced the ability to end debate, which has been amended several times to require an absolute majority of two-thirds of the entire Senate or more to end debate.
In 2013, in response to the partisan gridlock that has often plagued Congress during the Obama administration, the Senate changed this long-standing rule, changing the number required to end debate from an absolute majority – two-thirds – to a 60-seat (three-fifths) majority, effectively ending the minority party’s power to use delaying tactics to block passage of most presidential nominees.
In 2021, the Senate is tied 50-50, and will always need to pull at least 10 votes from the other side to pass a bill if it is to avoid lengthy proceedings.
Democratic leader Schumer is prepared to lower the “lengthy proceedings” rule again, lowering the threshold for advancing the bill to a simple majority of 51 votes. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding that Democrats agree to retain the existing 60-vote threshold for “lengthy proceedings” or refuse to reach a power-sharing agreement.
Privately, a handful of Democrats said they were wary of making changes to the Senate’s “lengthy proceedings,” leaving outsiders wondering if the party has the votes to eliminate the provision. In the current situation, even if the Democrats pull in three major Republican senators of the swing, but it is difficult to reach the threshold of 60 votes.
The Democrats’ current agenda includes fast-tracking the confirmation of multiple Biden cabinet nominees, passing another big-money Communist China virus (COVID-19) outbreak relief package and a broad immigration bill, and preparing for a second impeachment of former President Donald Trump (R-TX).
But in the absence of an agreement, the only way to get things done in the Senate at this point remains through a Republican-chaired committee, or through a unanimous consent motion that would send a nominee or bill directly to the full House, though the unanimous consent doctrine means that any one senator could block the action.
After Biden’s inauguration, Schumer declined to answer reporters’ questions about when the confirmation vote would take place or the progress of power-sharing negotiations in the Senate.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told the press Wednesday that Biden spoke with lawmakers from both parties that day about quickly confirming Cabinet nominees. “Getting his Cabinet in place and getting his team confirmed is of the utmost importance to the president,” She said.
Normally, using a simple majority can help clear procedural hurdles if the Senate agrees to expedite consideration of a nominee. But in the current divided state of the two parties, it may be difficult to even get that far.
Trump’s Cabinet nominees did not complete certification until April 27 of the same year, when the Senate majority was Republican, but was similarly strenuously blocked by Democrats and led to one nominee dropping out midway through the process.
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