One person, elected by the people in only one state, should not decide the fate of almost all Congressional legislation.
The right of Preferential Recognition (first recognition) by the presiding officer of the Senate (either the Vice President or a President pro tempore) given to the Majority Leader enables Mitch McConnell to block any legislation or nomination he does not like.
Each session, hundreds of House bills go to the Senate, where they die because of McConnell's Scheduling Veto. Those bills never reach the Senate floor for a vote, even if most of the Senate supports any of those bills.
Similarly, McConnell refused to hold hearings on President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland for a Supreme Court seat. For almost a year, that seat remained unfilled until a Republican president was elected. President Trump was then given the privilege of nominating someone else more to Mitch McConnell's liking.
But that right is not in The Constitution, it is not a law, and it is not in the Senate Rules. That right exists only because of precedent. Nothing is preventing the President of the Senate from recognizing someone else first. This alone would end McConnell's absolute control of Congress.
From: U.S. Senate: Floor Leaders' Right of Priority Recognition
"Later in 1937, Vice President John Nance Garner, a former Speaker of the House who valued leadership prerogatives, announced a new policy. Under the Senate rule requiring the presiding officer to "recognize the Senator who shall first address him," Garner established the precedent of giving priority recognition to the majority leader and then to the minority leader before all other senators seeking to speak. These two 1937 developments–priority recognition and front-row seating–contributed greatly to the evolution of modern Senate floor leadership."
"Article I, section 3, clause 5 of the Constitution permits senators to select a President pro tempore to fill in as Presiding Officer when the Vice President is unable to do so.""The leader was first granted priority of recognition in 1937 pursuant to a ruling made by Vice President John (“Cactus Jack”) Nance Garner while presiding over the Senate. But the 1937 ruling is not irreversible. Any Vice President presiding over the Senate in the future could just as easily break with past practice and recognize another senator in lieu of the Majority Leader."
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he alone decides what bills get considered on the Senate floor. When asked if the Senate would consider legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller, McConnell responded, 'I’m the one who decides what we take to the floor, that’s my responsibility as the majority leader, and we will not be having this on the floor of the Senate.'”"The majority leader has the right of first recognition pursuant to precedent.""By creating the right of preferential recognition, the Garner precedent serves as the foundation on which leader power is based in the Senate today. Since any member can technically make a motion to proceed to legislation or a nomination under the Senate’s rules, being the first to do so enables the majority leader to set the schedule and control the agenda to a limited degree."
It is up to the Vice President to end the Scheduling Veto, strip Mitch McConnell of his dictatorial power, and make the Senate functional once more.
