A resolution amending the Standing Rules of the Senate to authorize the Majority Leader to move to proceed to the en bloc consideration of certain nominations.
S. Res. 379 is a Senate resolution that seeks to amend the Standing Rules of the Senate (Rule XXXI) to allow the Majority Leader to move to proceed to en bloc consideration of a group of nominations. Specifically, the rule would authorize up to 10 “covered nominations” to be considered together in a single bloc, provided they were reported to the Senate by the same committee and placed on the calendar. A “covered nomination” is defined as a nomination that is not at Executive Schedule level I, not a judge of a federal court of appeals, and not the Chief Justice or an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The en bloc process would be conducted in the same manner as a motion to proceed to the consideration of a single nomination. In short, the resolution creates a mechanism to speed up confirmation of certain lower-to-mid-level nominations by allowing them to be considered as a group, while keeping higher-profile positions (level I executive roles, federal appellate judges, and Supreme Court justices) outside this process.
Key Points
- 1Adds a new provision to Rule XXXI (Rule XXXI, section 8) to authorize en bloc consideration of nominations.
- 2Defines “covered nomination” as nominations not at Executive Schedule Level I, not a court of appeals judge, and not a Supreme Court Justice or Chief Justice.
- 3Allows the Majority Leader to move to proceed to en bloc consideration of up to 10 covered nominations that were reported by the same committee and placed on the calendar.
- 4The motion to proceed and the en bloc consideration are to be conducted in the same manner as if considering a single nomination.
- 5Excludes certain high-profile positions from en bloc treatment (Level I executive appointments, federal appellate judges, and Supreme Court justices).