Regardless of political beliefs or leaning,

Murph -- and anyone else reading this -- it is my considered opinion that at least three things need to happen in Congress to make this -- and other -- ridiculous leadership Charlie Foxtrots never happen again.

1. An amendment to the Constitution making it illegal to shut down the government.
• Currently Continuing Resolutions are used when the Congress cannot get a budget passed and signed by the President in time for the new fiscal year (FY). CRs allow for the government to continue operating at the last approved budget funding levels, but no new projects or policies can be funded by any part of the government until the new budget has been passed.
• This Constitutional amendment would require that anytime the Congress cannot get a budget passed and signed by the President in time to provide funding for any portion of the federal government, that part of the government will continue operating at its last approved budget funding levels until such new budget is approved. Essentially an automatic CR, eliminating government shutdowns and the considerable time Congress spends trying to put together a CR for vote and POTUS approval instead of working on the final budget.
• It should be made a Constitutional amendment instead of just a change to the operating rules of the Congress and the Executive branch because recent experience shows us that it is too easy for the Congress to change a rule it finds constrictive. (Of course, as the only vote it can be far too easy for POTUS to exact changes if Congress is not willing to exert its Article 1 authority).


2. Make it the law that once POTUS has submitted a nominee for any of the 705 government positions that requires Senate approval, the Senate has 60 days to either approve or disapprove that nominee before the nomination is considered approved by default.
• Currently the Senate can choose not to consider a POTUS nominee at all, letting it vanish into limbo (see Obama's Merrick Garland nomination for the SCOTUS).
• Current law allows POTUS to either sign a bill, veto it or allow it to become law by not signing in protest (usually done only when POTUS knows the Congress will easily override any veto)
• Adopting a similar rule for POTUS appointments forces the Senate to do its job in a timely manner (instead of pushing appointments down the road until that POTUS is out of office), helping eliminate the Congressional backlog in approving nominees.

Currently of 705 key positions requiring Senate confirmation …
162 No nominee
2 Awaiting nomination
111 Formally nominated
431 Confirmed
Source: The Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service - Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far; updated Jan. 22 at 9:58 a.m. (Keep in mind this is into the third year of his term, and that some of the openings reflect people who have left the Executive in recent months.)


3. Return to the 60 vote approval level for all POTUS nominees.
• Given the usual composition of the Senate in the last few decades (no party having a 60 vote majority), the 51 vote level for SCOTUS allows the party in power to have far too much say in approving its pet but suspect nominees for lifetime appointments. This was a big reason for the original 60 vote threshold.
• This change would force both liberal and conservative POTUS to consider more central thinking jurists for SCOTUS instead of obvious right wing or left wing candidates who would never reach the 60 vote level.

I've got more (such as changes to or abolishing the Electoral College), but this is all for today.