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From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

Senate Republicans prepare to use the so-called nuclear option to revise their chamber's rules and speed confirmation for some of President Trump's nominees.

Why do they feel the need to take that step?

Is it a good idea and how will Democrats respond in kind when they retake power?

Welcome. I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.

We're joined today by my colleagues on the editorial page, columnists Kim Strassel and Alicia Finley.

On Monday, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed the list of

48 presidential nominees that he intends to confirm as a single block, including nominees

that received bipartisan support in committee. That's if he can convince 50 of his Republican

colleagues with a vice presidential

tiebreaker to trigger the so-called nuclear option to rewrite the Senate's rules with a majority

vote to permit this kind of block voting maneuver. Let's start with a clip of Senator John Thune of South

Dakota explaining why he thinks this rule

change is needed.

Mr. President, eight months of petty partisanship is long enough.

This Senate has cast more votes up to this point than any Senate going back to the 1980s. We have been in more hours than any

Senate going back a couple of decades. This historic obstruction ends now. Democrats have destroyed Senate and we're going to fix it. Fix it and ensure

that in the future, duly elected presidents of both parties are able to get their teams in place without unnecessary delay so that they can

fulfill their responsibilities to the American people.

...