If the Senate Flips: Judges, Treaties and Trump's Cabinet
Democrats need to gain four seats to take the Senate. Here is what that majority would control under the Constitution, and what Chuck Schumer says he would do with it.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS ANALYSIS | WHAT'S AT STAKE (Part 2 of 3) | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | 5-min read Republicans hold 53 Senate seats today. Democrats hold 45, and two independents usually vote with them [1]. Democrats need a net gain of at least four seats to take the majority [2]. On Oct. 6, the Cook Political Report raised its estimate of Democratic pickups to two to six seats, "squarely within the range of the four seats they need to net for a majority" [3]. On Oct. 20, Cook moved South Carolina and Mississippi toward Democrats and Minnesota toward Republicans [4]. The forecasters can be wrong, and the only count that matters comes on Nov. 3. But the Senate is the chamber that decides who serves in President Trump's government. Here is what changes if Chuck Schumer gets the gavel. Key Takeaways Nominees: Cabinet officers, ambassadors and federal judges all need Senate consent [5]. Schumer says that with a Democratic majority, "very few" of the President's nominees would get through [6]. Judges serve for life. Federal judges hold their offices "during good Behaviour" [5]. The Senate has confirmed 57 federal judges in this Congress,