President Obama must demand that Vice President Joe Biden immediately schedule a vote on Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Constitution makes Biden the president of the Senate, and it provides for the election of powerless Senate officers. Biden, as did all his predecessors, has delegated authority to various subservient Senate officers.
Obama, Biden, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Chief Justice John Roberts are the only constitutional executives of their respective domains who possess parallel domain authority.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s authority is ordained by and at the pleasure of Biden. This subordinate office facilitates Senate operations.
A constitutional mandate obligates Biden to intervene to ensure compliance. Because no constitutional amendment changed Biden’s Senate executive duties or authority, he must process and arrange for the vote up or down on the nomination.
The Senate GOP officers’ refusal transitions them into a powerless ceremonial group. A senator’s only constitutional mandate is to give advice and consent, not process nominee Garland.
Sen. Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the other elected GOP officers chose not to act as delegated by Biden. The senators can refuse, but Biden cannot.
Biden cannot accept or tolerate the refusal or interference by GOP senators. Therefore, using all Senate’s resources and powers, he must process and enforce.
Biden can delegate any executive authority to a senator or anyone at his pleasure without notice, consent, or advice, which he can revoke, restrict, strip, limit, or reassign without reason, notice, consent, or advice.
Implicit in the president of the Senate’s power is the authority to ensure all constitutional mandates are fulfilled including delegated mandates. He can re-delegate at will any or all executive power of the Senate majority to the Senate minority or others.
Biden’s message must be unequivocal that conduct of blocking this constitutional mandate to advise and consent is totally unacceptable and has consequences.
There is sufficient written, audio, and video evidence of GOP senators usurpation, contempt, lack of impartiality, conflict of interest, interference, and noncompliance justifying Biden to recuse them.
Furthermore, Biden notifies all current and future senators that he will dispense sanctions provided by all the tools of his constitutional executive office.
Biden can accept the current duly elected Senate GOP officers as ceremonial and powerless because of malfeasance, thereby not requiring a new replacement election.
Biden should retain or reassign his Senate executive authority to anyone, senator or not, who will adhere to the U.S. Constitution.
The GOP Senate officers attempted to stop a Senate constitutional mandate with total disdain, wanton disregard, and foolishness, using threats and intimidation.
The new “Biden Three-Part Rule” should be: 1) “No senator is above our Constitution”; 2) There is no selective process with “Shall”; 3) The options are vote up or down, not deny.
Biden’s assumption of control would state our Constitution is alive, well, and very active. If the GOP senators disagree, the only constitutional checks and balance provided for is resolution in the Supreme Court.
Vernon Weems is a retired attorney in Iowa.
