Congress has returned to a full plate of responsibilities for the month of September, including preventing a government shutdown and dealing with public demands for transparency over the Jeffrey Epstein files.
But more than 300 of President Donald Trump’s civilian nominees remain unconfirmed by the Senate due to Democrats dragging out the voting process, and Republican congressional leaders have had enough.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., lambasted Democratic senators for “historic levels of obstruction,” pointing out that not a single Trump nominee has passed by unanimous consent or a speedy voice vote, unlike during the Biden, Obama, and Bush administrations.
“This cannot continue. The American people elected President Trump, and like any president, he deserves to be able to fill up his administration,” Thune said on the chamber floor. “Now that doesn’t mean rubber-stamping every nominee, but it does mean an end to the ridiculous – and I mean ridiculous – delays on every nomination.”
Congress has confirmed 135 of Trump’s civilian nominees, despite Democrats slow-walking the process. But as of Wednesday morning, there are still 306 nominees to go – half of which were reported out of committee with bipartisan support, Thune noted.
Thune had chastised Democrats for their delay tactics before the chamber left for August recess, but until now he had not said whether he was considering the so-called “nuclear option:” changing Senate rules to expedite the confirmation process.
“[If] Democrats continue to obstruct, if they continue to drag out confirmation of every single one of the nominations of a duly elected president, if they continue to slow the Senate’s business to such a drastic degree, then we’re going to have to take steps to get this process back on a reasonable footing,” Thune warned.
This route, which could be implemented by a simple majority vote, could include cutting down on debate time, allowing more than one nominee confirmation per vote, or abolishing procedural votes on nominees entirely.
Thune argued that unless Democrats relent, a rules change would not only be justified but also necessary, given that their tactics are slowing down the Senate’s progress on other responsibilities, like the federal budget.
“This is not a sustainable business model. And one way or the other, it’s going to have to get fixed,” Thune said. “The Democrats can play ball – the way every Democrat and Republican Senate have, going back as far as we can find in the annals of history – or things are going to have to change around here. It’s as simple as that.”
