In 2017, I wrote an article titled SCOTUS After Scalia. In the piece, I tried to sketch out how future conflicts over the Supreme Court would arise. One of my proposals focused on reversing the Supreme Court confirmation process. Currently, Senators simply provide "consent" after a nomination is made. They do not provide "advice." But Senators could place advice before consent. Specifically, I wrote, they could take a nonbinding vote on the short list before a nomination is even made. This idea would work best where the President and the Senate are controlled by different parties, and confirmation is not assured. In our present moment, the Senate is divided 50-50, but there no guarantee that any nominee would go through.
I've adapted my 2017 plan for an op-ed in Newsweek, titled Senators Should Give Their "Advice" Before Their "Consent."
Here is the intro:
