WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement after Republicans changed the rules of the Senate to allow nominees for the Supreme Court to move through the confirmation process.

“This is a sad day in the Senate, but one the Republicans queued up years ago when blocking President Obama’s lower court judges and then punctuated last year by not even considering the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. Theirs was the ultimate filibuster of a judicial nominee.

“A lifetime appointment to the highest court of our nation should have broad, bipartisan support. The 60-vote threshold for the Supreme Court was an important hurdle to force consultation and consensus. It’s why we have the rules we do in the Senate, or at least did until today. I would hope that we will find our way to return to some level of comity in the Senate, as the course we are on is unsustainable and dangerous for our country.”

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