US Senate avoids "filibuster" showdown The Obama administration will secure approval for a batch of cabinet-level nominees under the terms of a last-minute deal to avoid a partisan showdown in the US Senate over a contentious reform of the chamber's operations. After a lengthy meeting of both Democrat and Republican senators on Monday night, Senate leaders patched together an agreement to drop the use of the so-called "nuclear option" to limit the use of the filibuster in the chamber. Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader, had threatened to change rules which demanded 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to clear the way for the confirmation of White House cabinet appointments and those of other federal agencies. Mr Reid insisted that a simple majority be allowed to bring on votes for White House nominees because of persistent Republican obstructionism. Republicans denied his claim, pointing to Senate approvals for most of President Barack Obama's cabinet. The Democrats have a majority of 55 senators, enough to confirm nominees but not sufficient to break the filibuster. Under the terms of the deal, Republicans have agreed to allow votes on the nominees who have been delayed, in return for Mr Reid dropping the rule change which gets around the filibuster. In the first sign that the deal would hold, the Senate voted 71 to 29, with the support of 17 Republicans, to clear the way for the approval of Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Republicans had used the filibuster to hold up the confirmation of Mr Cordray, who was nominated two years ago to head the CFPB and appointed temporarily by Mr Obama to get around the Senate impasse. Other cabinet-level nominees awaiting approval and who should soon be confirmed include the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Labour Department and the Export-Import Bank. "This must be the new normal - qualified executive nominees should not be blocked by the need for a super-majority," said Mr Reid. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican minority leader, said Republicans had "waived none of their rights" to use the filibuster for controversial nominees but was pleased that the Democratic leadership had dropped the nuclear option. "We think that is to the benefit of the institution," he said. The White House also agreed to withdraw its two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, whose confirmation had been held up by Republicans in the Senate, and on Tuesday put forward new nominees in their place. Mr Reid's threat, dubbed the "nuclear option" because of the chamber's traditions of making such changes through a broad consensus, symbolised how deeply the partisanship that afflicts most political dealings is becoming entrenched in the Senate. Mr Reid complemented John McCain, the Republican Arizona senator, for his role in brokering a compromise. "John McCain is the reason we're at the point we are," he said. No one was able to break through but him.