https://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/01/27/audio-sen-john-mccain-admits-dropping-the-ball-on-filibuster-nuclear-option-pledges-to-take-obamas-recess-appointments-to-court/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 11:52:03 -0400<![CDATA[Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) appeared on America&#8217;s Radio News today to discuss the campaign, but about 6:30 into the interview, host Chris Salcedo asked McCain a very pointed question. Back when the Republicans held the Senate, as the leadership threatened to deploy the &#8220;nuclear option&#8221; to remove the 60-vote requirement to get a bill past cloture and undo a Democratic filibuster, McCain and others created a bipartisan &#8220;Gang of 14&#8221; to take that option off the table. They did this, they said at the time, in the name of protecting the Senate minority&#8217;s rights. But in 2011, as Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened to deploy the nuclear option to undo a GOP filibuster, there was no &#8220;Gang of 14&#8221; from McCain or anyone else. Reid eventually used the nuclear option. Salcedo asked McCain about that, and McCain agreed, calling it a &#8220;failure of us to get together and enforce what we agreed to.&#8221;]]>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:47:11 -0500<![CDATA[Bryan Preston]]>https://pjmedia.com/bryan-preston-1/2012/01/27/audio-sen-john-mccain-admits-dropping-the-ball-on-filibuster-nuclear-option-pledges-to-take-obamas-recess-appointments-to-court-n160018