WASHINGTON (AP) — For now, President Donald Trump has confirmed for now that he will delay the Senate’s annual August break, like Democrats saying his candidate should not be forced to wait. Slow the process By forcing a procedural vote on almost every choice of Trump.
Senate majority leader John Toon says he’s been caught in the middle. He said he will win confirmation votes while negotiating with Democrats to accelerate the review of dozens of candidates to keep the Senate in session at least over the weekend. It is still unclear whether Trump, who has yet to agree and publicly invited Republicans to cancel their break, is on board, any bipartisan.
Thune said Friday he left some of the negotiations with Trump and minority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.
“That’s how this is resolved,” Thune said. “We’ll see where that leads.”
Senators on both parties are eager to leave Washington for their annual break when many of them tour their state and talk to their constituents. Republicans in particular are keen to go home and sell Large tax and spending reduction package They died as Democrats in July I swear to use it against them In the 2026 midterm elections. The House of Representatives, which has no role in the verification process, fled Washington a week ago.
But Trump has other plans.
“The Senate must not take a break and take a break until the entire executive calendar is clear!!” Trump posted on social media after a meeting with Thune at the White House on Thursday night. “We must save our country from the left of the madman. For the health and safety of America, Republicans must do your job and check all candidates.”
Thune said this week that he is considering changing Senate rules when Republicans return in September to quickly approve the president’s nomination and avoid a similar stalemate in the future. Democrats blocked more candidates than usual this year, rejecting unanimous, prompt votes of consent, and forcing each to roll call.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Friday that Senate GOP leadership is “back and drafting certain rules for us to respond.”
It is the first time in recent history that minorities have not allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune already keeps the Senate in sessions on more days, and this year he is trying to make sure as many of his Trump candidates as possible.
Democrats have little desire to give up despite wanting to skip town after months of long work and a fierce partisan battle over law. Schumer said Democrats cut off the quick vote because “historically bad candidates deserve historical level of scrutiny.”
There are over 150 nominations on the Senate calendar, and if Democrats pull the process, it will take more than a month for the Senate to stay in the session.
This standoff is just the latest chapter in the Senate’s fight for constant Senate nominations in the past 20 years. Both parties are increasingly using stall tactics to slow down the once swift, bipartisan and routine confirmations. 2013, the Democratic Party Senate rules have been changed A judicial candidate in a lower court to remove the 60 vote threshold for confirmation as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s judicial nomination. 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court candidates When Democrats tried to stop Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Still, Thune says the current Democrat delay is a “historic level of obstruction.”
In his first year as a leader, Thune worked with Trump to quickly review the cabinets, navigate complex internal party dynamics, passing a tax and spending reduction package that Trump considers to be the achievement of his signature policy.
However, the president has increasingly put pressure on Thune and his meetings, trying to control the Senate schedule, calling for three Republican senators this week in a social media post.
Trump criticized Grassley for maintaining Senate traditions and working with his hometown National Democrats on some judicial confirmations, saying that Grassley was re-elected “by a lot when he fell.”
Grassley, who began a committee hearing on Thursday, defended the practice, adding that he was “angry about what the president said and disappointed that it would lead to personal shaming.”
Trump also criticized Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley Working with Democrats on banning stock trading For lawmakers. And in a post later Thursday, he encouraged Republicans to “vote the exact opposite” of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Susan Collins.
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Associated Press Writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
