But a senator is replaced only if he dies or steps down, according to Senate precedent, and senators have remained in office despite being absent because of illness for months or even years.

Again, they simply have it wrong, both as a matter of Senate precedent and as a matter of constitutional analysis.

He is the editor of Riddick's Senate Procedure (1992), the official authoritative compilation of Senate precedents.

They said under Senate precedent, Democrats now have a clear majority.

In October 2011, however, Reid triggered the nuclear option to make a more modest change in Senate precedents.

Changing Senate precedents with a majority threshold does not reach the level of an actual change in Senate rules.

On several occasions in the past, former Senate Majority leader Robert Byrd, used this same procedure to change Senate precedents.

Mr. Ueland said he and his colleagues had been "plowing through 200 years of Senate history, 1,400 pages of Senate precedents and every Senate rule."

Precedents on Questioning Mr. President, you said a moment ago that there are Senate precedents on how questioning happens in the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Graham, much the folksiest of the 13 managers, was assigned to explore Senate precedent, and he did so.