President Donald Trump is calling on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to confirm his executive nominees awaiting confirmation by the upper chamber.
“Hopefully the very talented John Thune, fresh off our many victories over the past two weeks and, indeed, 6 months, will cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed,” the president wrote in a Saturday Truth Social post. “We need them badly!!!”
Trump’s push for Thune to quickly get his appointees confirmed came days after The Federalist reported that there more than 120 of the president’s nominees awaiting action by the Senate. This includes notable appointments such as Matthew Lohmeier to be the under secretary of the Air Force and Joe Kent to be the director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
As The Federalist’s Rachel Bovard previously observed, while cabinet secretaries “are certainly important … everyone in Washington knows agencies’ sub-Cabinet-level officers and below are just as critical to executing the president’s agenda.” Having seen how the entrenched bureaucracy worked to sabotage Trump’s first term, Bovard noted, “most Republican voters now understand how critical these appointees are.”
Despite promising voters shortly after Trump’s January inauguration that Senate Republicans would work “Nights,” “Weekends,” and “Recesses” to confirm the president’s nominees, Thune has moved as slow as molasses on fulfilling such a pledge. In fact, the South Dakota Republican and Senate GOP leadership have regularly dismissed the Senate for long weekends, allowing confirmation of Trump’s nominees to languish in the upper chamber for months on end.
As noted by Trump, the Senate is rapidly approaching its August recess, a roughly month-long “break” in which senators often return to their home states and congressional business (including confirmations) is effectively halted. Should Thune continue the current pace of Senate confirmations and dismiss the upper chamber in early August, the president’s executive appointments will be forced to wait an entire month (or longer) to be confirmed (unless Trump decides to temporarily fill them).
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood