GOP’s Thune Will Use ‘Nuclear Option’ To Get Trump Noms Past Dem Blockade
Senate Republicans are preparing to break Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s months-long blockade of confirmations, moving to end seven months of delays that have stalled President Donald Trump’s efforts to staff his administration.
Majority Leader John Thune is expected to trigger the “nuclear option” as early as Monday to change Senate rules and allow en bloc confirmation of lower-level executive branch nominees, a senior GOP aide told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The change could clear more than 100 civilian nominees who have been held up by Democratic resistance, with votes expected before the Senate recess begins on Sept. 19.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been signaling since July that Republicans would act to rewrite chamber rules if Democrats continued stalling the confirmation of President Trump’s nominees. After weeks of internal discussions, Thune has secured agreement among Republicans to move forward with the changes.
Thune convened a working group in August after talks with Senate Democrats collapsed over how to clear the logjam of executive branch nominees. That group—composed of Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL), James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Ted Budd (R-NC)—spent the past month crafting a plan.
According to a senior GOP aide, the senators have rallied behind a proposal to allow en bloc confirmations, enabling nominees who have advanced through the same committee to be approved together rather than individually.
The idea borrows from a 2023 plan introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), which would have permitted up to ten nominees to be confirmed as a package.
Senate Republicans’ plan is expected to go further than past proposals by removing any cap on the number of nominees who could be confirmed at once.
The change, however, would not apply to judicial or Cabinet appointments. What remains uncertain is whether Republicans will permit executive branch nominees from different committees to be bundled together for confirmation, the Daily Caller reported.
Since the start of Trump’s presidency, Schumer has worked to stall the confirmation process. In a February interview with The Wall Street Journal, the Democratic leader said he would press his caucus to oppose every Trump nominee.
Democrats have largely stuck to that strategy, delaying action on nearly all executive branch appointments.
