“That Republicans now control the Senate means, of course, that they control the confirmation process. Their majority enables them to stop an unacceptable nomination at various points: They can deny the nominee a committee hearing; they can vote the person down in committee; they can refuse to schedule a vote on a nomination sent to the floor; and the full Senate can vote to reject the nomination. The Republicans' majority status also strengthens their negotiating position with the White House, making it more likely that a mutually acceptable candidate will be chosen for a given seat.”
![“Republicans are taking the possibility of [Donald] Trump as nominee seriously enough that the committee that oversees next year's Senate races laid out a confidential seven-page blueprint for candidates on how to run with Trump at the top of the ticket.” quote by Dalia Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bc4/dalia-mogahed-13851_blueprints_republicans-are-taking-the-possibility-o_2053822.jpg)
![“In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing about this election - is that once there's an incumbent running for reelection, most of the debate is about, "Has he [Barack Obama] done a…” quote by William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0b0/william-kristol-9091_acceptable_in-any-case-open-seat-presidential-elect_36353.jpg)