Infighting in Missouri Senate prompts talk of ‘nuclear option’ by GOP leader – By Jack Suntrup (St Louis Post-Dispatch) / March 23, 2022
JEFFERSON CITY — Division in the Missouri Senate was exposed again Wednesday as the fate of the state’s congressional maps hung in limbo.
Assistant Majority Leader Bill White, R-Joplin, floated the idea of regularly moving to cut off debate in the Senate in order to resolve the paralysis, which would constitute a remarkable shift in how the more-deliberative upper chamber conducts business.
Hot tempers Wednesday, combined with an approaching candidate filing deadline on March 29, possibly created the ideal atmosphere for GOP leadership to deploy a “nuclear option” to cut off debate on congressional maps and force a vote on the plan.
The maneuver would be used against a hard-line GOP faction as the group and other Republicans have failed to reach an agreement on the contours of the state’s eight congressional districts.
