Arizona Senator Jeff Flake on Wednesday dropped his plan to obstruct
President Trump’s judicial nominees after a symbolic Senate vote on
tariffs.
In a narrowly divided Senate, Flake’s automatic no vote
on appeals court nominees as a way to demand a vote on Trump’s tariff
policies effectively stalled confirmations. While the Arizona senator
picked circuit court nominees to use as leverage, he told the Arizona Republic he would not use . . . . .
that as a basis to hold up President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
“That [was] always the deal. Get a vote [on tariffs] and it’s dropped,” Flake told The Hill.
The
nonbinding bill, passed 88-11, provides for the inclusion of language
“providing a role for Congress” on tariffs put in place for national
security reasons, according to The Hill.