Senate Approves Change to Filibuster Rules on Nominees

BREAKING NEWS Thursday, November 21, 2013 12:38 PM EST

Senate Approves Change to Filibuster Rules on Nominees The Senate voted on Thursday to eliminate the use of the filibuster against most presidential nominees, a move that will break the Republican blockade of President Obama’s picks to cabinet posts and the federal judiciary. The change is the most fundamental shift in the way the Senate functions in more than a generation. The vote was one that members of both parties had threatened for the better part of a decade, but had always stopped short of carrying out. This time, with little left of the bipartisan spirit that helped seal compromises on filibuster rule changes in the past, there was no last-minute deal to be struck. The vote was 52 to 48. READ MORE » http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/22/us/politics/reid-sets-in-motion-steps-to-limit-use-of-filibuster.html?emc=edit_na_20131121