How American politics might be overhauled by a little-noticed procedural change
WASHINGTON — A potentially transformative event for American politics occurred a few days ago, gaining little attention amid the glare of cruise-missile strikes in Syria.
But it could have far-reaching consequences.
The confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court required a change in parliamentary procedure that came within one blow of knocking down the notorious, ever-influential Senate filibuster rule.
It’s the decades-old rule that nearly everything in the U.S. Senate can be vetoed by default. To override that veto requires a 60-per-cent vote; depending on one’s perspective, that’s either a valuable check on power or a prescription for permanent inaction.