“Group of G.O.P. Senators Quietly Explore Rule Changes”

NYT:

Senate Republicans will meet on Wednesday to delve into a subject that usually sets off political fireworks on Capitol Hill: changing Senate rules.

But a small group of senators led by Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, has been quietly exploring some potentially nonexplosive changes, including limiting the use of a filibuster to prevent opening debate on spending bills and reducing some of the required time between procedural votes.

And Mr. Alexander says he is interested in changing rules only under the Senate requirement that 67 lawmakers agree to do so, meaning that significant numbers of senators from both parties would have to approve. Republicans are still upset that Democrats led by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada used a simple majority vote in 2013 to limit the use of the filibuster against executive branch nominees, allowing President Obama to push multiple judges through to federal appeals courts.

 

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