Reid, McCain signal "nuclear option" may be averted

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., signaled on the Senate floor Tuesday morning that the protracted fight over President Obama's executive branch nominees may be over, potentially averting Reid's threat to use the "nuclear option" to change the Senate rules.

Reid said Democrats and Republicans worked out "a way forward that will be good for everybody."

"I think we get what we want, and they get what they want," he said. "Not a bad deal."

Senate leaders have yet to release the details of the compromise, but there at least appears to be a path forward for holding a vote on Richard Cordray's nomination to lead the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

McCain said the Senate would move forward with debate over Cordray's nomination and he looked forward to a vote "as soon as possible."

Reid has been calling on Republicans to drop their opposition to Cordray and six other nominees: Richard Griffin, Jr., to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB); Sharon Block, to serve on the NRLB; Mark Pearce, to serve on the NRLB; Regina McCarthy, to serve as EPA Administrator; Thomas Perez, to serve as Secretary of the Department of Labor; and Fred Hochberg, to serve as president of the Export-Import Bank.

If Republicans refused to drop their filibusters, Reid had threatened to use so-called "nuclear option" to change the rules on presidential nominations. The "nuclear option" is a procedural maneuver that would force a rules change with a simple 51-vote majority. Reid wanted to change the rules so that executive branch nominees could be confirmed with a 51-vote majority. He's stressed that the change would only apply to executive branch nominees -- judicial nominees and legislation could still be filibustered.

Republicans and some senior Democrats expressed serious concern about using the "nuclear option," arguing that Reid should respect the rules put in place to protect the minority party. Reid and other Democrats, meanwhile, contend that the GOP's use of the filibuster against Mr. Obama's executive branch nominees is unprecedented and unreasonable.

The entire Senate met behind closed doors for four hours on Monday night to try to hash out a compromise.

On the Senate floor Tuesday morning, Reid heaped praise on McCain for using his "persuasiveness" and "persistence" to forge a compromise.

"He does it at his own peril," Reid said.

The meeting, McCain said, was "maybe long -- which is our custom -- but I think [a] productive discussion of the many issues that separate us."