General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf Moore is elected, might the Senate expel him?
The Senate can expel any member upon a 2/3 vote. Assuming all 48 members of the Senate who caucus with the Democrats stayed united, it would take 19 of the remaining 51 (I'm leaving Moore out of the calculus) to send him packing. There would be a lot of pressure on Republican Senators to support expulsion rather than cast a vote that appears to turn a blind eye to his actions. And expelling him wouldn't cost the Republicans a seat, since the Republican governor of Alabama could and would pretty quickly name a replacement for Moore.
Where it gets weird for the Republicans is what happens next. There would be pressure to name Luther Strange but the Alabama repub voters that picked Moore rather convincingly over Strange in the primary would freak out. And its not clear how long the appointed senator could serve. The governor could make a pretty convincing case that the appointment should last at least through the 2018 elections, allowing time for another primary before having voters decide. However, the governor might try to find a way to keep the temporary appointment in place until 2020, when Sessions seat would be up for election anyway. Another benefit would be that it would prevent Moore from entering the primaries for a 2018 special election, getting elected again, and then forcing the Senate to expel him again. That might still happen in 2020, but a lot could happen between now and then.
Interesting times.
global1
(25,239 posts)retain that seat. That might be their strategy.
Takket
(21,552 posts)LOL