The Senate may have averted a showdown over the filibuster, with both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. John McCain saying they’ve reached a deal that will allow votes on some of President Obama’s nominees, provided Obama replace two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board. The White House has yet to agree to the proposal. Reid had been threatening to change Senate rules to allow presidential nominees to be confirmed with a mere 51 votes, rather than the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster threat, a tactic referred to as the “nuclear option.” If the two NLRB nominees are pulled, the Senate would vote on five other nominees, including Richard Cordray for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator.
