Van Hollen: Today is a Sad Day in the United States Senate

Today U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen issued the following statement on the change in Senate precedent to end the 60-vote threshold on Supreme Court nominees:

"Today is a sad day in the United States Senate. I regret that my Republican colleagues did not have the courage of their convictions and failed to stand up to President Trump's demand to undermine the Senate in order to confirm a Supreme Court nominee who is outside the mainstream. Instead of rising to the challenge and upholding the rules designed to forge bipartisan compromise, Republicans have engaged in a crass power play. I can only hope that they don't further dismantle Senate procedure to end the protections that force consensus around legislative issues."