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James Wallner

Senior Fellow, Governance Project, R Street Institute

by James Wallner (page 3)

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Rule change empowers leaders to silence senators

April 1, 2019
Republicans in the Senate want to change the rules to speed up the confirmation process for presidential nominations. Yet their proposal goes much further. It empowers the majority and minority… Read More
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New R Sheet: Post-cloture debate time for presidential nominations

March 20, 2019
Key Points: 1) Republicans can speed up the confirmation process by enforcing the Senate’s current rules and practices. 2) Strictly enforcing the provisions of Rule XXII limits the amount… Read More
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The ‘World’s Greatest Deliberative Body’? Yeah, right.

March 18, 2019
It’s hard to imagine the Senate being any more dysfunctional than it already is. And yet here we are. Reports indicate that Republicans, frustrated by how long it takes to confirm… Read More
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McConnell is not omnipotent

March 11, 2019
This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., suggested that he alone has the power to select the measures on which his colleagues vote. When McConnell was asked why the… Read More
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Precedents: What they are and how they are created

March 7, 2019
Senate Republicans are not yet convinced that they can amend a resolution to terminate a presidential declaration of a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act. While the… Read More
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The National Emergencies Act of 1976

February 28, 2019
Do you ever get the feeling that your friends and coworkers are talking about an obscure federal statute that you have never heard of before? Have you recently been unable… Read More
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Recent work supports “structured consent” approach to decision-making

February 26, 2019
Nearly ten years ago, I set out to tell a story about the Senate that was not being told. I wanted to understand better how the Senate actually worked at… Read More
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McConnell follows in Reid’s footsteps

February 13, 2019
Back when he was the Senate’s minority leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, disagreed profoundly with how Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., managed the institution. McConnell even accused Reid of doing “tremendous damage… Read More
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McConnell maintains firm grip despite pledging to restore the Senate

February 12, 2019
In January 2014, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made the case that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was running the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” into the… Read More
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Senate rules of procedure

February 5, 2019
The Senate’s rules of procedure are comprised of five parts: the Constitution; Standing Rules; statutory rules; standing orders; and precedents. The interaction of these component parts creates the procedural architecture… Read More