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Senate Democrats are united in demanding an independent investigation into potential Russian involvement in Donald Trump's campaign, and are pushing with what limited power they have to make it happen.
Democrats invoked an obscure Senate rule that prevents committee hearings from lasting more than two hours after the Senate convenes. The move will cause Wednesday’s committee business—including nomination hearings for three deputies to Attorney General Jeff Sessions—to shut down around lunchtime.
Following that, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) objected to a unanimous consent request from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for committees to meet during the day. Later, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) came to the floor to try to get a hearing in the Aging Committee to proceed, but Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) objected, after which Collins shed many crocodile tears over the loss of bipartisanship, forgetting apparently how the last eight years of the Senate has failed to function.
There are, however, a few Senate Republicans who share their Democratic colleagues' concern about Comey’s firing, including John McCain, Bob Corker (R-TN), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Richard Burr (R-NC). There's also a number of things they can do about it if they work with the Democrats, and if Democrats commit to it.
Greg Sargent talked to Brookings scholar and Lawfare editor Benjamin Wittes about the options.
Wittes suggested several ideas to me. He noted that, with all Democrats and a handful of Republicans upset about the Comey firing, there are enough senators “to create a blocking majority for the next FBI director,” who must be confirmed. This blocking majority, Wittes said, could theoretically condition its support for nominees to that post, insisting that the Justice Department produce a fuller accounting of the recommendation into the Comey firing or that the department appoint a special prosecutor on the Russia probe.
Alternatively, Wittes noted, individual senators—in either party, but especially in the majority—can employ other tactics to force the issue. They could try to oppose funding for various other Justice Department priorities or block other nominations to the department. “I would not give that cooperation until the Justice Department names a special prosecutor,” Wittes said.
Finally, Democrats—with or without a handful of Republican allies, but preferably with them—can basically try to grind the Senate to a halt, by refusing cooperation on any legislation or nominations or anything, until GOP leaders and/or the White House agree to some form of independent investigation. “Every time they’re asked to cooperate on something, this needs to be front and center,” Wittes says. “They need to be focused like a laser beam on that every time they’re asked to give unanimous consent.”
Senate Democrats can and must do what they can on their own—continue what they started this morning and block every unanimous consent request and just refuse to cooperate on anything and everything.