In 2013, Senate Democrats used the nuclear option to allow most executive branch and judicial nominees to be approved by a simple majority.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent contemporaneous and retrospective sources across the political spectrum, including detailed reporting on the 52-48 vote, the scope of the rule change, and the Supreme Court carve-out.
Sources
- The federal shutdown and the Senate filibuster: What could happen now? | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera (aljazeera.com)
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-poised-to-limit-filibusters-in-party-line-vote-that-would-alter-centuries-of-precedent/2013/11/21/d065cfe8-52b6-11e3-9fe0-fd2ca728e67c_story.html (washingtonpost.com)
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/11/21/246539731/will-senate-democrats-deploy-the-nuclear-option (npr.org)
- https://www.heritage.org/political-process/commentary/5-years-after-going-nuclear-democrats-have-reaped-what-they-sowed (heritage.org)
- https://time.com/7316763/nuclear-option-senate-republicans-trump-nominees/ (time.com)
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mcconnell-went-nuclear-confirm-gorsuch-democrats-changed-senate-filibuster-rules-n887271 (nbcnews.com)