Fifty Fifty
Critical Analysis
According to the data from the chart above, what is the current breakdown of party affiliation in the U.S. Senate?
When there is a tie in U.S. Senate party affiliation, who breaks the tie?
What happens to legislation and confirmation if there is no party with a majority in the Senate?
What is an important piece of legislation or confirmation the Democrats are hoping to pass in the next few weeks?
Yesterday, Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján suffered a stroke. He is currently recovering in the great state of New Mexico and expected to return to his senatorial duties soon. For the moment, when he is unable to vote on nominations or legislation, what is the partisan split in the Senate?
Imagine that Senator Luján was permanently incapacitated or died. According to the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, who would pick his replacement?
The current governor of New Mexico is Michelle Lujan Grishama, a Democrat. She would, if needed, replace the State’s U.S. Senator with a Democrat, thus maintaining the current balance of power in the Senate. According to the maps below*, which states have at least one Democratic Senator and also a Republican Governor?
Imagine that Ohio Republican Governor Mike Dewine decided to replace Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown with a Republican. How would that replacement impact the attempt to fill the nomination for Supreme Court Justice Breyer’s seat on the bench?
How does this entire scenario reflect the concept of federalism and checks and balances?
Based on this entire wacky scenario, how likely do you think it is that Joe Biden’s nominee to fill Justice Breyer’s seat will be approved?
Learning Extension
Things are even more complicated than this might seem! States have different rules about when and whom a governor may appoint to replace Senators. Check out this link and the charts below*.
Action Extension
Contact your state legislator and let them know what you think about their laws on replacing U.S. Senators.
Visual Extension*
