In 2013, former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., invoked the so-called “nuclear option.” That is, with a simple majority vote, he and his Democratic majority changed Senate rules to make it easier to confirm certain executive and lower court nominees. No longer would supermajorities be required to confirm judges, as they had been under President George W. Bush. Now, a simple majority would do.

At the time, this was a very big deal. Some level-headed Democrats even warned that this decision would come back to bite. And it did.