EXCLUSIVE — The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced nearly two dozen of President Donald Trump’s Pentagon nominees already, twice as many as any administration has in this time frame since the start of the century.

The committee’s efficiency, led by Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), has occurred despite near-uniform opposition from the Democratic Party, which has been ineffective in stopping many of the president’s choices to lead the military.

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Twenty-two of Trump’s nominees have passed a committee vote, and the Senate has confirmed six in a little more than the first 100 days of the administration. During the same period in 2021, the Senate had only reported three of former President Joe Biden’s nominations out of the committee, two occurred during Trump’s first term, 11 took place during former President Barack Obama’s first term, and there were eight under former President George W. Bush.

“The committee has worked at a historic pace to advance the president’s nominees because we understand the severity of the threat environment our country faces,” Wicker told the Washington Examiner.

“Amid the largest land war in Europe since [World War II] and Iran-backed chaos in the Middle East, President Trump is contending with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” he added. “We must have civilian leaders in place at the Pentagon to ensure we have deterrence and are prepared for any threat we may face.”

A senior congressional staffer highlighted Wicker’s ability to work with Democrats to “schedule hearings and advance the constant work of the committee,” and said the chairman has “prioritized hearings for nominees incredibly efficiently,” with Majority Leader John Thune (R-ND) putting together “a more aggressive senate schedule.”

The committee’s ranking member, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), said on Wednesday that committee Democrats “have effectively fought against the nominees based upon their quality and their ability to do the job,” even though those efforts have largely proven futile.

One of the primary examples is Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who faced a difficult confirmation process and an uncomfortable confirmation hearing where he faced questions about his drinking habits, his infidelity in his first two marriages, and concerns about a disputed sexual assault allegation that did not result in charges filed against him.

Reed, who spoke at a Defense Writers Group event, said, “We thought we could really stop,” Hegseth’s nomination, though their efforts proved fruitless.

Three Republican senators — Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Susan Collins (ME) — voted against Hegseth’s confirmation, but he was ultimately confirmed with Vice President JD Vance acting as the tiebreaking vote. It was the second time a sitting vice president had to cast the tiebreaking vote to confirm a Cabinet secretary, the first of which was when former Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie on Betsy DeVos’s nomination to the Education Department.

With a 53-person majority, the Democrats would need to vote uniformly with at least four Republicans to stop a nomination and avoid a Vance tiebreaker.

“As demonstrated with Hegseth, it was a struggle to get three and we needed one more,” Reed added, “We need Republicans, more than our three colleagues who joined us on the Hegseth vote, we need seven, eight, nine, 10 Republicans and then we can start turning the process around and put pressure on the president to send up really qualified nominees, not ideological sycophants.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Tuesday his intent to place a blanket hold on all Department of Justice political nominees in light of the Qatari government’s decision to give the United States a plane to be repurposed as Air Force One.

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This type of hold is similar to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold over Pentagon nominees during the Biden administration due to the department’s decision to reimburse certain expenses related to troops pursuing medical care only available out-of-state.

In both instances, the blanket hold does not completely bar the Senate from confirming these nominees, but it requires a more arduous and time-consuming process.