'Ending the Senate as we know it': Democratic leaders blast McConnell for destroying Senate rules to rush Trump's nominees

On Wednesday, at the behest of Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Senate GOP unilaterally changed the rules of debate, cutting the hours of debate from 30 to 2 for many executive and judicial nominees.

The change, which comes after Republicans themselves spent years using the original rules to deny President Barack Obama judicial confirmations, is meant to help President Donald Trump confirm a steady stream of partisan judges, possibly even filling every single vacancy on the federal courts ahead of the next presidential election.

Numerous Senate Democrats howled with outrage, laying bare the hypocrisy of the move and warning that it will have dire consequences both for Senate tradition and for the integrity of the federal courts: