Democrats tried to kill the filibuster. I bet they're glad that didn't work. | Opinion
In the four years after Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Democrats have thrown around a number of norm-shattering ideas to undo much of his legacy.
From abolishing the Senate filibuster to packing the court, Democrats have proposed a wide array of actions that would lay waste to the American political landscape.
Fast-forward to the dawn of Trump’s second term, and Democrats should be thankful that they weren't able to take such impulsive and drastic actions.
Now, in fact, it's likely that Republicans will toy with those same decisions in Trump's ridiculous recess appointments plot. Politics has a way of coming full circle.
Recess appointments would destroy typical confirmation process
Team Trump has proposed that Republicans abuse a loophole in American law, under the recess appointments clause, to force through a ridiculously underqualified slate of executive nominations for the second Trump administration.
The Constitution allows for a president to make appointments when the Senate is in recess and otherwise unable to confirm their nominees. No president has ever used this method of appointment at the outset of his term.
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Even ignoring the fact that such a recess appointment scheme is constitutionally dubious at best, and that Senate Republicans are unlikely to torch their own advice and consent power, Republicans would be extremely naive to take such an action.
If this method of appointment were to survive legal challenges, which is unlikely, do Republicans not realize that eventually Democrats will use the exact same method to appoint an equally ridiculous slate of appointments? Unless the assumption is that Republicans will remain in power forever, those advocating for this scheme do not care for the health of our republic ? only Trump's will in his quest for unimpeded control of the federal government.
2nd Trump term will show Democrats why norms are good
The case for why institutional norms like the Senate filibuster and limiting the Supreme Court to nine justices are positive for American politics is now in front of the Democrats.
Trump has made it clear that he will take any action necessary to impose his vision for the country on Americans. Even before taking office, he has outlined aggressive plans to handle illegal immigration, appointed a ridiculous slate of Cabinet members and announced plans for radical change in other areas – much of which will require cooperation from Congress.
Democrats ought to be thankful they didn’t come to the rash decision of abandoning the filibuster, giving Republicans a far easier path to enact legislation without compromise.
While the idea of packing the court never made it past the theoretical stage, abolishing the filibuster has made headway as a staple of Senate Democrats in tight races. Due to Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema's, I-Ariz., opposition to filibuster reforms, Democrats lacked the votes previously to do so. Otherwise, the 60-vote Senate rule could already have been dismantled.
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Imagine an expanded Supreme Court with Trump as president
As for packing the court, had Democrats successfully increased the size to 13 justices as proposed, Republicans would now be poised to expand SCOTUS and likely be poised to grow that majority.
Democrats should instead be thankful that the court is full of conservative justices interested in restraining executive power to the constitution's intent.
We saw that when the Supreme Court overturned the infamous precedent of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Before that June ruling, in cases where laws were ambiguous, courts deferred to agency interpretations of those laws, giving the executive branch sweeping power to shape American law that otherwise would be sorted out by Congress.
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Democrats had warned that the conservative court would gut executive branch power. Now, I’ll bet they're quite glad Trump’s ability to impose his will on American bureaucracy has been stifled.
How will Republicans govern now that they have the majority?
In all likelihood, the filibuster is safe for the foreseeable future, given Senate Republicans' favorability toward the tradition. Republicans now would be wise to preserve other norms, such as the typical Cabinet appointment process.
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Destroying political norms is always done under the shortsighted assumption that your party will be in power forever, which is clearly far from the case. We've seen the congressional power dynamic shift several times since 2000, for example.
The guardrails against tyranny function because they are nonpartisan. Any move to destroy the filibuster or alter the size of the Supreme Court should seriously worry Americans, not just for the threat of the party that does so, but also for the response from their opposition.
America was designed against single-party rule to its core, and either major party requires an overwhelming mandate in order to achieve control without impediment.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's win means left should be glad filibuster survived | Opinion