Advice and consent: Constitutional duty of the Senate

Some readers may remember that their introduction to this ancient phrase came when they picked up a copy of Allen Drury’s 1959 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, “Advise and Consent,” which described a passionate and energetic U.S. Senate engulfed in a controversial confirmation hearing for a nominee to be Secretary of State. Others will recall its invocation in the setting of a government cla...