Senate Democrats Invoke Nuclear Option for Executive and Judicial Nominees

Senate Democrats under Majority Leader Harry Reid used the nuclear option to change Senate rules by simple majority vote, ending the 60-vote threshold for cloture on executive branch nominations and federal judicial nominations below the Supreme Court. The 52-48 vote established a new precedent allowing the majority to confirm nominees with 51 votes, bypassing Republican filibusters that had blocked dozens of Obama appointees. The change applied immediately to all pending nominations but exempted Supreme Court nominees from the new 51-vote threshold.