Hacker News Reader

I think this is a bit off. I don't think the GOP in the Senate can stop California from appointing Feinstein's replacement, or keep them from being admitted to the Senate. They can keep the replacement from being appointed to the Judiciary Committee, but that is not an inherent right for senators from California.

View on HN

Correct.

California can appoint an interim Senator (per their constitutional & laws - I believe the governor does it without any approval from other parties).

Committee appointment is by Senate rules. There's no automatic right to a seat on a committee. Judiciary is a massively important committee because it oversees the approval of federal judges (without committee approval, the nominees never get to the floor for a vote).

The GOP can block a committee replacement via filibuster. The Democrats could attempt a rules package to prevent filibuster, but Manchin (D-WV) has historically been against those.

That is because Joe Manchin can still think independently and understands the value of the filibuster to the independent minority.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com