Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to force votes next week on a Republican plan to change the Senate's rules to short-circuit Democrats' ability to slow nominations from President Donald Trump.
McConnell announced the rules change on the Senate floor Thursday, setting up a potential vote next week on using the procedural "nuclear option" to change the Senate rules via a simple majority. McConnell has already used the procedure to gut the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees after former Democratic Leader Harry Reid deployed the so-called nuclear option years ago to eliminate it for all other judicial nominees.
McConnell blamed "unprecedented obstruction" of Trump nominees by Democrats as the reason for the change. Delays have "crippled" the ability of the Trump administration to staff up, McConnell said, including numerous lower-level appointees.