It took 14 seconds for the U.S. Senate to approve an order to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, without hearings, discussion, debate, or votes.
It happened because no one objected, largely because most Senators didn’t know it was happening. Marco Rubio and Kyrsten Sinema pulled a fast one.
Typically to pass a bill through the chamber, it would be cleared through a Senate committee, and then the Senate Majority Leader will be asked to put it to a vote.
Or a Senator can ask for unanimous consent.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) rose, requested that S. 623 be “discharged” from the Senate Commerce Committee, which hadn’t approved it, then said: “I ask unanimous consent that the Rubio substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.”
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), the presiding officer, was complicit in the scheme. She quickly declared “without objection, so ordered” and then, in her latest breach of decorum, stage-whispered “yes!” into the microphone and pumped two celebratory fists.
The bill was scheduled to be brought to the floor on Monday, and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) was planning to block the bill, but his flight was delayed and the bill was moved to Tuesday’s schedule. Wicker then chose not to block it on Tuesday, because he stated he said he was focused on Ukraine.
Apparently many Senate staffers did not inform the Senators that the request was happening, or perhaps ignored it thinking that Wicker was going to block it.