(FreedomBeacon.com)- Conservative websites were quick to promote a recent TIME Magazine article that claimed Republicans will be able to stop the confirmation of President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee if the Judiciary Committee vote is deadlocked.
The TIME story was picked up by several websites and the claim was repeated on social media as conservatives were eager to find a way to stop Biden’s SCOTUS replacement.
The Daily Wire gullibly blasted the story under the headline, “McConnell Could Stop Biden From Replacing Justice Stephen Breyer Due To ‘Little-Noticed Backroom Deal’: Report.”
Unfortunately, they popped the champagne far too soon.
It turns out there isn’t a “little-noticed backroom deal” that would enable McConnell to stop Biden’s nominee after all.
Shortly after TIME published the piece, it was forced to add an editor’s note correcting the story.
According to the original TIME report, the nuclear option (AKA only needing 51 votes) only goes into effect if the Judiciary Committee votes to move the nominee to the full Senate. The initial article claimed that in the event the Judiciary Committee vote is tied, 60 votes would be required to move the nominee to the full Senate for a confirmation vote, therefore, Republicans could block it.
You can understand why conservative outlets latched on to the story.
Problem is, it isn’t true.
Less than 12 hours after publishing the article, TIME was forced to issue a correction noting that the initial claim “was based on the author’s incorrect analysis of the May 13, 2021, Congressional Research Service report.”
The article was then revised under the new title, “Biden, Senate Democrats Can Replace Justice Stephen Breyer on Party Lines.”
In reality, if the Judiciary Committee is deadlocked, all that’s required to move the nomination forward is a simple majority vote in the full Senate, not sixty votes.
So even if all fifty Republicans vote against moving the nominee forward, the fifty Democrats along with the assistance of Vice President Kamala Harris can advance the nominee to the full Senate.
This is why you should never use TIME Magazine as a go-to source on the Senate rules.
