 In July 2013, McCain was at the forefront of an agreement among senators to drop filibusters against Obama administration executive nominees without Democrats resorting to the "nuclear option" that would disallow such filibusters altogether.These developments and some other negotiations showed that McCain now had improved relations with the Obama administration, including the president himself, as well as with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and veteran Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.Indeed, McCain had become the leader of a power center in the Senate for cutting deals in an otherwise bitterly partisan environment.