But can’t they (and don’t they already) just slow walk a quorum call for as long as is needed? It is typically used as a procedural step to temporarily delay things to allow McConnell and Schumer to reach an agreement or just to allow more time for senators to get to the chamber.
So what would happen if a recalcitrant member demanded a quorum call but the presiding officer and the clerk (who would have to rotate out in shifts) just kept reading the roll? Is there a method to hurry up the count which is necessary to take the next step of compelling attendance?
Also, when I have seen it, the clerk says “Mr. Alexander?” (as he is first alphabetically) and then never calls another name. Is there a procedure by which the recalcitrant member can ask the presiding officer to have the clerk move it along a little?
But to his and my point, the roll can be called as slowly as the Majority Leader wants it to be called. An individual member has no power to demand that the clerk call the roll faster.
Nope. See my post above. The roll is called by the clerk and the paced depends on tradition and the intended outcome. A live quorum call proceeds fairly quickly.
Are you joking? Bob Dove was the Senate’s Parliamentarian, until he came out with a ruling on budget matters that Trent Lott, the-then Majority Leader didn’t like.
You want to take a bet on how much longer Dove was Parliamentarian?
Also, do you realize that the Secretary of the Senate has worked for Mitch McConnell since 2003, with a few pauses to work in the Bush White House? You think SHE is independent?
And her predecessors just happened to work for the previous Majority Leaders before becoming Secretaries of the Senate. Not a coincidence.
The Secretary of the Senate is not independent - it’s basically a patronage appointment.