All Questions
Tagged with constitution senate
20 questions
1
vote
1
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96
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If POTUS doesn't name a candidate to fill a SCOTUS vacancy, can the Senate fill the seat?
If the President doesn't name a candidate to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, can the Senate fill the seat, anyway?
If Biden were to win re-election, the Republicans take the Senate, and a Supreme Court ...
- 179
3
votes
1
answer
451
views
How is the minimum age of candidacy for the Senate enforced?
According to this US Senate article, it can be enforced by the Senate. Could the Senate just not remove them? Or would that go to the courts? I remember something-or-other about the sovereign right of ...
- 303
2
votes
1
answer
260
views
Constitutional limits on the Standing Rules of the Senate
According to this comment by @RickSmith:
"Congress may not 'ignore constitutional restraints or violate fundamental rights, and there should be a reasonable relation between the mode or method ...
- 1,272
16
votes
7
answers
4k
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US Constitution amendment restriction on Senate - is there a way around it?
According to Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution (emphasis added):
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ...
- 271
-2
votes
2
answers
321
views
Isn’t having unequal numbers of Senators in each class unconstitutional?
The Constitution says that Senators
shall be divided equally as may be into three Classes
So wouldn’t the current Class 3 consisting of 34 members while Class 1 and Class 2 only having 33 members be ...
- 2,026
0
votes
1
answer
204
views
Hypothetical: Law passes House and Senate with VP tie-breaker. Then president dies before signing
The circumstances of "The American Rescue Plan" made me think of this. Suppose a bill passes both the House and the Senate, but with a 50-50 tie in the Senate such that the vice president ...
- 174
34
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Why is the Constitutionality of an Impeachment and Trial when out of office not settled?
The US Senate has voted 3 times, once in 1876 and twice in 2021, that impeachment and trial of an official who has left office is acceptable.
Despite this, Mitch McConnell voted to acquit Trump in ...
- 25k
1
vote
1
answer
301
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Why doesn't the President Pro Tempore preside over presidential impeachment trials?
The Constitution specifies that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over impeachment trials of the President. SCOTUSblog says that the reason for this exception is
In any impeachment case ...
- 11.9k
2
votes
1
answer
248
views
Does the Senate need supermajority or just a regular majority to prevent a convicted President from running for office again? [duplicate]
The Constitution allows the Senate to punish an impeached President with prevention from holding an important office in the future, do they need 2/3rds of the Senate to do this or 2/3rds for a ...
- 2,026
3
votes
1
answer
432
views
What is the constitutional basis of the Senate majority leader's power to call issues to a vote?
Framers of the Constitution, such as Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, spoke out against the concept of parties, and the Constitution does not mention them. See for example https://www.history....
- 130
7
votes
3
answers
2k
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Why do Cabinet members need to be confirmed ? (aside from the line of succession)
Two current members of the Cabinet are currently unconfirmed, one being SecDef and the other being vacant for more than a year now, and it doesn't seem to cause any problems.
Why would a president ...
- 1,272
13
votes
1
answer
2k
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Who will be Georgia's senators from January 3rd 2021 until the results of the January 5th runoff elections are known?
The 20th amendment to the constitution of the USA states
The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at ...
- 450
15
votes
3
answers
10k
views
If the US Senate votes to not pass a bill, can the House of Representatives overrule that vote?
Background: During a conversation about politics, I mentioned that one party in the US might try to amend the Constitution so that, should a bill pass the House of Representatives but be voted down in ...
- 261
4
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What does 2/3ds the US Senate mean?
For normal bills to pass the US Senate, all it takes is a simple majority. If the Senate is evenly divided (50/50), the vice president votes as to break the tie with a 51/50 or 50/51.
But for ...
- 151
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why can a Chief Justice break ties in the Senate during an impeachment trial?
I came across a Politico article that suggests that Chief Justice John Roberts can vote to break ties in the US Senate during an impeachment trial.
Unless Chief Justice John Roberts shocked ...
- 46.7k
1
vote
2
answers
302
views
Can the U.S. Senate impose a deadline for the House to transmit articles of impeachment?
A follow-up to this question.
Background
The House has passed articles of impeachment but at present is refusing to transmit them to the Senate or appoint impeachment managers. The effect of this ...
- 4,190
39
votes
8
answers
9k
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Can the U.S. Senate hold an impeachment trial if the House "passes" articles of impeachment but does not "transmit" them to the Senate?
After passing articles of impeachment against the President, Speaker Pelosi has announced she will not immediately send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial.
What does this actually ...
- 4,190
1
vote
1
answer
387
views
What happens if nominated candidate is not confirmed by the senate?
As far as I understand it the US cabinet is nominated by the president, but the senate has to consent to the nominees. The same applies applies to judges of the Supreme Court.
But what happens if the ...
- 927
15
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Can both US Senators from a state be elected at the same time?
I understand the US constitution mandates three rolling 'classes' of nearly equal numbers of Senators be elected every two years, each for 6 year terms. The convention has been to not elect both ...
- 368
9
votes
2
answers
616
views
What recourse is available in case of a violation of US Senatorial oath of office?
This oath is taken by newly-elected United States Senators:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
...
- 1,450