11.22.13

Hoeven Statement on the Vote to Change the Rules of the Senate

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today released the following statement in response to Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) move to change the rules of the Senate to allow confirmation of all presidential nominees, with the exception of the Supreme Court, with a simple majority vote, rather than a 60 vote majority.

“The fact is, since President Obama took office in 2008, the U.S. Senate has confirmed all but four of the 1,707 nominations he has sent to us. That is a 99.7 percent confirmation rate, and hardly a justification to change the rules of the Senate. I believe the right thing to do is to work through the nomination process in an open and transparent way in order to arrive at a decision that the American people can support.

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s move to change the rules is really about taking the focus off the numerous problems with Obamacare. It is not coincidental that litigation over Obamacare will go through the D.C. Circuit Court, so clearly President Obama wants to appoint activist judges to the court. When one party acts unilaterally in a completely partisan way, the result is something like Obamacare, which was passed in 2009 with no Republican votes. Instead, we must find a way to work together in a bipartisan manner so that we can pass bills that reflect the consensus of the American people and that can pass both chambers of Congress.”