this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2025
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The courts can decide the Senate is responsible for its own rules but it can also decide that a simple majority didn't have the power to enact multibillion dollar legislation by the strict wording of its own rules.
That said, if we can get another majority in then I highly recommend they try it. I'd even be willing to call my representative and ask them.
You are not understanding what the Senate is doing here. The "Nuclear Option" is the Senate rewriting its rules. They absolutely have that power. It's specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
The court does not have the constitutional authority to demand the Senate follow a previous version of its rules. The court must accept the new rules the Senate writes for itself, because the Constitution gives them the power to establish such rules.
The Nuclear Option has never been used to rewrite its rules but to change how the rules have been interpreted, such as in 2013 and 2017 where the ability to filibuster was not extended to SCOTUS nominations and presidential cabinet picks. To rewrite the senate rules requires 67 senators, I was mistaken earlier when I said 60, as outlined in the 1975 fillibuster reform OR it could even take 100 votes as outlined in the Senate rules Article 5
A distinction without a relevant difference: The court would be required to follow the later interpretation, not the earlier one.