WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has confirmed 48 candidates for President Donald Trump at once, voted for the first time New rules Begins clearing the backlog of administrative positions that were delayed by the Democrats.
Frustrated by the stalled tactics, Senate Republicans were able to easily see a large group of lower-ranking non-judicial nominations last week. Democrats forced multiple votes on almost every Trump pick, infuriating the president and ties the Senate floor together.
The new rules allow Senate Republicans to move multiple candidates with a simple majority vote. This is a process that would have been blocked by one objection before. This rule does not apply to judicial nominations or high-level cabinet posts.
“The Republicans fixed the broken process,” Thune said ahead of the vote.
The Senate voted 51-47 to confirm the four dozen candidates. Thune said all those confirmed Thursday had received bipartisan votes on the committee, including deputy secretaries for departments such as the defense, internal and energy.
Among the confirmed ones are Jonathan Morrison, the new manager of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Kimberly Guilfoyle as Greece’s US ambassador. Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the funding of Trump’s 2020 campaign, and was once employed by Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
Thune’s Move is the latest salvo after 12-year gradual changes by both parties to weaken the filibuster and make the nomination process more partisan. The parties have been blocking each other’s candidates for years, and the senators of both parties advocate speeding up the process when they are majority.
Republicans first proposed changing the rules in early August, when the Senate left after a month’s break. Breakdown of bipartisan negotiations on the verification process And then Trump told Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, “Go to hell!” On social media.
Democrats have struggled to find a way to oppose Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress, blocking more candidates than ever as voters urged them to fight Republicans at every turn. It is the first time in recent history that minorities have not allowed at least some quick confirmations.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats are delaying the nomination because Trump’s candidate is “historically bad.” He then told Republicans he “remorrowed” their actions. From GOP leader Mitch McConnell to the majority leader of the time, Harry Reid, D-Nev. , reflecting a similar warning to Democrats in 2013. Senate rules have been changed Judicial candidates in the Enforcement Division and lower courts will remove the 60 votes threshold for confirmation. Back then, Republicans were blocking President Barack Obama’s pick.
Republicans won a Senate majority a year later, and McConnell ultimately I did the same for Supreme Court candidates. In 2017, Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
“What Republicans have done is to give Donald Trump more empowerment and give him a rubber stamp to everyone he wants, and then leave his tips further in the Senate.
Republicans will move to confirm the candidate’s second tranche in the coming weeks, gradually clearing a list of over 100 nominations pending for months.
“There’ll be more coming,” Tune said Thursday. “And I guarantee that President Trump’s administration will be filled at a pace similar to that of his predecessor.”
