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Senate Republicans executed a party-line “nuclear option” rule change Thursday to accelerate confirmation of President Trump’s nominees, eliminating the need for individual votes on lower-level executive positions.
The new procedure allows batch confirmation of multiple nominees with a simple majority vote, bypassing the traditional requirement for individual consideration of each candidate.
The rule change came after a brief attempt at bipartisan compromise collapsed. Democrats proposed limiting grouped nominations to 15 candidates from the same committee, and negotiations initially showed promise with what Sen. Brian Schatz called potential for “the first major bipartisan rules reform in a political generation.” However, Democrats could not achieve unanimous consent within their party to proceed with the compromise.
Republicans justified the nuclear option by citing unprecedented Democratic obstruction of President Trump’s nominees. Unlike previous presidencies, Democrats have refused to provide unanimous consent for batch confirmations except for military promotions, forcing time-consuming individual votes even for nominees with bipartisan support.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune declared it was “time to move, time to quit stalling, time to vote, time to fix this place” before proceeding with the original Republican plan that places no limits on batch size.
The GOP argues Democrats have created an artificial bottleneck for more than 100 pending sub-Cabinet nominations.
Democrats defended their approach by characterizing Mr. Trump’s picks as “historically bad” and deserving extra scrutiny. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned Republicans for “turning this chamber into a conveyor belt for unqualified Trump nominees” and predicted they would regret the decision.
The procedural change required Republicans to overrule the Senate chair’s enforcement of the previous 60-vote filibuster threshold. All 53 Republicans voted to establish the new precedent, while all Democrats opposed the move. Under the new rules, the Senate then voted 53-45 to invoke cloture on a package of 48 nominees.
Sen. John Cornyn acknowledged potential future consequences, noting that rule changes could benefit Democrats if they regain control. However, he expressed no reservations, arguing Democrats already support eliminating the filibuster entirely.
The initial batch of 48 nominees includes significant positions across Defense, Energy, Interior, and Labor departments, such as former Rep. Brandon Williams for under secretary for nuclear security. Eight ambassador nominations are also included, featuring Kimberly Guilfoyle for Greece and Callista Gingrich for Switzerland.
Federal judicial nominations remain unaffected by the rule change and will continue requiring individual confirmation votes. A final vote on the 48-nominee package is scheduled for next week.
Read more: Senate Republicans go ’nuclear’ on nominee rules after deal with Democrats falls apart
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