Dem attempt to thwart Trump noms backfires, Republicans tee up nearly 100 for confirmation
In a surprising turn of events, Senate Democrats aimed to obstruct a significant package of President Donald Trump’s nominees but inadvertently handed Senate Republicans a strategic victory. The GOP was preparing to confirm 88 of Trump’s nominations when Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado intervened, raising concerns about one nominee, Sara Bailey, who is slated to serve as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy—a cabinet-level position. This intervention forced Republicans to confront the reality that, due to the inclusion of a cabinet nominee, they would need to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold, a feat unlikely given the Democrats’ staunch opposition to many of Trump’s picks.
This situation arose after Senate Republicans invoked the “nuclear option” earlier in the year, which allowed them to confirm sub-cabinet nominees with a simple majority. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota attributed the Democrats’ failed blockade to what he termed “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” suggesting that their inability to accept Trump’s presidency led them to oppose his nominations out of spite. Despite the setback, Republicans quickly pivoted, seizing the opportunity to expand the nominee package to include 97 of Trump’s picks, thus increasing their chances of confirmation in the coming weeks. Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia indicated that this move would allow them to streamline the process and potentially confirm even more nominees in a compressed timeline.
As the confirmation process unfolds, Republicans are on track to surpass 400 confirmed nominees for Trump, a notable achievement when compared to former President Joe Biden, who had about 350 confirmations at the same point in his tenure. While Democrats may perceive their actions as a win, Republican leaders are celebrating the unexpected turn of events that not only preserves their momentum but also enables them to advance a broader slate of nominees. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming expressed gratitude to Democrats for inadvertently facilitating this opportunity, highlighting the ongoing tug-of-war in the Senate over presidential nominations and the evolving dynamics as both parties navigate this contentious political landscape.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0lwko0uJEw
Senate Democrats attempted to derail a batch of dozens of President
Donald Trump’s
nominees but ended up giving Senate Republicans a surprise victory in the process.
Republicans were on the way to starting the long procedural process of confirming 88 of Trump’s picks but were blocked by Sen.
Michael Bennet
, D-Colo., over an issue with one of the nominees in the group.
When Senate Republicans went nuclear and changed the rules surrounding the confirmation process earlier this year to break through Senate Democrats’ blockade, they limited the scope to only
sub-cabinet level positions
that would be advanced through a simple, 50-vote majority.
SENATE CONFIRMS DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES IN FIRST TEST OF NEW NUCLEAR RULES
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said ahead of the vote
that Democrats’
failed blockade of Trump’s picks could be chalked up to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“Democrats and their base still can’t deal with the fact that President Trump won last November,” Thune said. “And so they have held up every single one, every single one of his nominations in revenge. But Republicans have not been daunted. We’ve just continued plowing ahead on nominations, helping us rack up a historic number of votes this year in the process.”
But one of the nominees in the group, Sara Bailey, was considered a “level 1” nominee, meaning she would hold a cabinet-level position. Trump tapped Bailey in March to be his drug czar as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
SENATE GOP LEADER MOVES TO LOWER FILIBUSTER THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP NOMINEES THROUGH NUCLEAR OPTION
Her inclusion in the package meant that in order for the 87 other nominees to be confirmed, Republicans would have to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold, which was unlikely given Senate Democrats’ wholesale disapproval of many of Trump’s picks.
Senate Republicans
took advantage of the opportunity and have decided to tack on even more of the president’s picks in a new, beefed-up package that will include 97 of Trump’s nominees.
“I think we’ll add some more and do it next week,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., told Fox News Digital. “You know what happened was, you can’t have cabinet-level, and I think drug czar is a cabinet-level now, and so the name was on the list, we just sort of invalidated the list.”
SCHUMER UNVEILS DEMOCRATS’ OBAMACARE FIX PLAN, LIKELY DEAD IN THE WATER
Bennet’s objection still pushes back Senate Republicans’ timeline to confirm the batch of nominees. Lawmakers had planned to move through the procedural steps and finish the process by the end of next week, but now the timeline is expected to stretch into the third week of December.
Once the process is finished, Republicans will have confirmed over 400 of Trump’s picks, putting him well ahead of former President
Joe Biden
, who at the same point last year had roughly 350 of his nominees confirmed.
And even though Senate Democrats believed they scored a win against the administration, Republicans are relishing the unexpected victory.
“Senate Republicans will now have the opportunity to confirm even more qualified nominees! Thank you to the Democrats for making this possible,” a spokesperson for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said.
