Democrats in the U.S. Senate have done everything they can to try and impede President Trump and Ken Blackwell explains in a TownHall op-ed how they have now taken it too far
August 17, 2017
Gridlock Reform Needed To End Democrats Judicial Obstruction
Democrats in the U.S. Senate have done everything they can to try and impede President Trump and former Ohio Secretary of State & Treasurer Ken Blackwell explains in a TownHall op-ed how they have now taken it too far.
Blackwell uses the example of Judge David Nye, who was originally nominated to the federal bench by President Obama and then re-nominated for the same position by President Trump, only to be delayed by Senate Democrats. This is only the tip of the iceberg, Blackwell writes:
Senate Democrats have now become the doctors of gridlock. Forsaking the good will the minority party usually shows to the new party in power after a presidential election, the Democrats have also decided to prevent the President from actually filling important positions in the administration. This has the cumulative effect of preventing the public from getting action from the government it has elected to serve them.
This includes delaying (or outright blocking) exceedingly qualified individuals – such as Judge Nye and others – from filling well over 100 vacancies on the federal bench, threatening a backlog in the courts that could last for years.
Blackwell then explains how the Democrats, despite being in the minority, are able to obstruct. He notes that they currently have the power to demand 30 full hours of debate on each nominee and that the home-state Senators of the nominee can chose not to submit their “blue-slips” to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
To remedy this blatant, partisan obstruction, Blackwell suggests “gridlock reform,” doing away with the “blue-slip” process that “has no legal standing and is being abused by one political party for political purposes to keep the government from working.” He then calls for Congress to pass Oklahoma Senator James Lankford’s bill “that would cut the maximum hours of debate for nominations to eight hours or less.”
Opposing President Trump does not give Senate Democrats the right to halt the work of the federal government. Blackwell makes a strong case for gridlock reform in his column and Congress would be wise to listen to him and pursue this legislation.