Chuck Schumer Plans to Invoke the ‘Two Hour Rule’ for the Senate

In the last few weeks before President Trump officially announced that he’d be nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threatened impeachment of President Trump of Attorney General William Barr if they were to nominate and move to confirm Judge Barrett.

Now, Schumer has moved forward with another tactic to block the confirmation. He has invoked the “two hour rule” which constrains the scheduling and duration of Senate committee meetings. The rule requires that no Senate committee or subcommittee can meet after the Senate has been in session for two hours or after 2 pm. This move would make it more difficult to confirm Judge Barrett, however it could still be done as committees could choose to schedule meetings earlier in the morning before the Senate has convened or adjourned. The rule also means that committees can meet outside the time constraints only when given permission from the majority and minority leaders.

Senator Schumer said, “We invoked the two hour rule because we can’t have business as usual when Republicans are destroying the institution as they have done.” Democrats are doing everything in their power to block Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation as they are upset that Judge Merrick didn’t get confirmed during Obama’s last few months as President. They claim it’s unconstitutional and a threat to democracy for President Trump and the Senate to move swiftly with a nomination and confirmation, but “nowhere in the Constitution does it say the President stops being the President in an election year” Kayleigh McEnany said in a press conference recently.

But a senior Democratic aide said Democrats wouldn’t invoke the two hour rule because the Senate Health Education Labor Pensions Committee plans to hold a hearing about Trump’s response to the coronavirus. Democrats are running out of options to delay the confirmation as there are plenty of Republicans to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court without and Democratic votes.

Sources: CBS News, Conservative Brief; Photo-The American Prospect