Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) ripped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) on the floor Thursday for his hypocritical role in bringing about the "nuclear option," quoting directly from a Washington Free Beacon article during his impassioned speech.
Reid said in a 2008 interview that, so long as he was the party leader, there would not be a nuclear option effectively stripping the Republicans of their ability to block President Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees. However, on a near party-line vote Thursday, the Senate voted to approve the measure, 52-48.
Reid previously called such attempts at a nuclear option by Republicans when they controlled the chamber "a black chapter in the history of the Senate."
After reading the exchange, McCain said, "Boy, this gives new meaning as to where you stand on an issue as opposed to where you sit."
McCain also read remarks by then-Sen. Barack Obama about his opposition to the nuclear option in 2005, three years before he won the White House. Thursday, President Obama gave a statement in support of the Senate vote that will make it far easier to confirm his judicial appointments.