Reid Finds Loophole to Allow Warren Pick

“Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has been actively reviewing Massachusetts rules for filling a US Senate vacancy, another indication of the seriousness with which Democrats are gaming out the possibility of Elizabeth Warren joining likely presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s ticket,” the Boston Globe reports.

“The upshot of Reid’s review is that Senate Democrats may have found an avenue to block or at least narrow GOP Governor Charlie Baker’s ability to name a temporary replacement and prevent the Senate from flipping to a Democratic majority if Warren were to leave the chamber. That suggests the issue is not as significant an obstacle as Reid previously feared.”

Key takeaway: “Warren could file such a letter 145 days before the Jan. 20, 2017 inauguration and successfully block Baker from picking any temporary replacement… A more likely scenario would be that Warren would start the clock ticking for a special Massachusetts ballot only if Clinton won, with an intent-to-resign letter dated the day after the Nov. 8 national election.”