Historic rules change would allow for group confirmations, bypassing months of Democratic obstruction.
Senate Republicans are on the verge of a historic rules change to overcome what they describe as unprecedented obstruction by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus, which has stalled President Donald Trump’s efforts to staff his administration.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is expected to invoke the “nuclear option” as early as Monday, a move that would allow for the en bloc confirmation of lower-level executive branch nominees.
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The proposed reform is designed to clear a backlog of more than 100 civilian nominees who have been blocked from their postings for seven months. If passed, the change could lead to a swift confirmation vote for these individuals before the Senate’s scheduled recess on Sept. 19.
The stalemate over nominations has been a defining feature of the current session. Since the beginning of the presidency, Democrats have followed mainly through on Schumer’s stated intention to vote “no” on every Trump nominee.
This has forced the majority party to use time-consuming procedural votes on nearly every appointee, a departure from decades of Senate precedent where many nominees were confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent.
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In a stark contrast to previous administrations, no civilian Trump nominee in his second term has been confirmed via voice vote or unanimous consent.
This marks the first time since the Hoover administration, nearly a century ago, that a president has faced such a challenge at this point in his term. During his first term, 65% of Trump’s civilian nominees were confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent. This percentage was 57% for former President Joe Biden.
According to a senior Republican aide, the proposed rules change is based on a 2023 proposal from Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, which would have allowed for the simultaneous confirmation of up to ten nominees.
The Republican version, however, is expected to be more expansive, with no cap on the number of nominees that can be confirmed at once. The reform would not apply to judges or Cabinet nominees.
Senator Katie Britt, a member of the working group that has developed the plan, stated that under the current procedural roadblocks, the Senate is on track to confirm only 426 nominees by the end of the 119th Congress, which would be the fewest in history.
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“This is of the Democrats’ making,” said Majority Leader Thune. “There isn’t anything right now that they want to vote for that he has his fingerprints on, and getting his team in place is absolutely essential.”
The use of the “nuclear option” has a precedent in recent history. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used it during former President Barack Obama’s second term to lower the confirmation threshold for executive branch and judicial nominees. Similarly, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invoked it to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees.
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