Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is reportedly pursuing a "nuclear option" rule change to make it easier to push through a flood of President Donald Trump's right-wing judges.

Under the new rules, nominees for lifetime appointments on lower courts would only require a simple majority of votes rather than the current 67. Critics condemned the move as "hijacking" the federal judiciary and pointed out that even if Democrats regain control of the Senate and White House in the next election, they may not have any more spots to fill post-2020.

As noted by Politico, which first reported on McConnell's plan Wednesday, the "stream of [Trump] judges is about to become a torrent."

Trump currently has 128 District Court vacancies to fill, and each one can take multiple days under current rules if any senator demands a delay; if Republicans change the rules, Trump could conceivably fill most of those over the next 20 months.