Senate Republicans are set to change the upper chamber’s rules, enabling the majority to confirm a slate of executive branch nominees by a single vote instead of going through a laborious floor vote for each nominee. While the impending rule change has been made necessary by the historical intransigence of Senate Democrats, it marks yet another regrettable diminution of Senate power as the traditional checks and balances between our three branches of government decline.

Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution limits the power of the president to control the executive branch by requiring the “advice and consent of the Senate” for all “ambassadors,” “ministers,” “consuls,” “judges of the Supreme Court,” and “all other Officers of the United States … established by law.” As the federal government’s size and scope grew, so did the number of offices requiring Senate approval, including local postmasters, customs collectors, and naval officers.