Although most of the coverage of the Senate Rules change has concerned the immediate effect on the composition of the D.C. Circuit, it occurs to me that it is also relevant to NLRB v. Noel Canning. Many recess appointments in recent years were of nominees who enjoyed majority support, but a Senate minority prevented a vote on their nominations.
Thus, if Noel Canning prevails in the Supreme Court in its challenge to President Obama’s recess appointment power, the effect on Executive Branch operations (and judicial operations, for that matter) will likely be less severe–at least until the Senate and the presidency are not in the hands of the same party. In other words, the government’s “parade of horribles” just got a little less horrible (in the near term).