Gone Nuclear: The Filibuster Rules Change and the Judicial Confirmation Process

• In Event: Politics of Federal Judicial Selection

Abstract

In November 2013, majority party Senate Democrats changed the rules governing the confirmation of Article III judicial and executive nominees. By lowering the cloture threshold from 60 to 51 votes – a change known as the “nuclear” option – confirmations to district and circuit judicial positions could now be achieved by a simple majority. In this paper, we examine how this change affected (or not) various stages of the confirmation process for nominees to the federal district and circuit courts. By analyzing confirmation hearing transcripts, committee votes, and floor votes before and after the change, we explore whether senator scrutiny of nominees or the voting behavior of senators changed as a result of the new threshold for confirming judges. The findings ultimately speak to the consequences of the rules change on the confirmation process and offer insights into how the parties and individual senators adapt to institutional changes.

Authors

• Logan Dancey, Wesleyan University

• Kjersten Nelson, North Dakota State University

• Eve M. Ringsmuth, Oklahoma State University

• Emma Bari Solomon, Wesleyan University