WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate majority leader John Toon says he is ready to change the Chamber of Commerce rules to allow dozens of President Donald Trump’s executive candidates to be promptly reviewed.
Thune says he will begin the process of changing rules when the Senate enters the session Monday afternoon. “We must return to the traditional Senate confirmation process that existed before this unprecedented lockdown,” Thune said in OP-ED. Published at breitbart.com Monday morning.
Republicans have been talking about options to change rules since early August, when the Senate left on a month-long holiday. Breakdown of bipartisan negotiations on the verification process. Democrats block almost all of Trump’s candidates, forcing majority Republicans to spend valuable bedtime on procedural votes, and have not filled many positions in the administrative sector.
The change comes after the parties escalated the obstruction of the other candidate over the years, and then the leaders of the parties gradually changed rules to make the process bipartisan. The proposal to group nominations is loosely based on a law introduced by Democrats, as Republicans blocked many of the then-President Joe Biden picks two years ago.
But Senate Republicans forced similar delays during the Biden administration, while Democrats blocked almost all of Trump’s nominations. It is the first time in recent history that minorities have not allowed at least some quick confirmations.
“The Democrats make President Donald Trump the first president to record that one candidate has not been confirmed through audio or unanimous consent, and they are forcing a time-consuming vote for non-conflict candidates confirmed by large, bipartisan margins,” Thune said in the OP-ED.
The delay infuriated Trump, and he told Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, “Go to hell!” The social media post comes after negotiations were destroyed in early August.
Thune has yet to say how the rules will be changed yet, but Republicans said last week that if the majority of senators agree, the main option is to allow votes for a large group of candidates at once. Currently, one senator objection can force a single candidate to vote for several days.
If Republicans act quickly, they were able to quickly confirm Trump’s pending nominations of over 100 pending nominations this week. Changes to the rules are expected to apply only to administrative department appointments rather than lifetime judicial appointments, and exclude the most high-profile positions, such as cabinet candidates, who require longer discussion times. Some other parts may also be ruled out, particularly controversial candidates.
The process of changing rules likely requires several floor votes and simple majority support, so at least 51 of the 53 Republicans in the Chamber of Commerce should support them. However, it appears that most GOP senators are on board.
The change will be the latest salvo in the years to intensify over the presidential nomination. 2013, the Democratic Party Senate rules have been changed When Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s choice, judicial candidates in the administrative department and lower courts to remove the 60 vote threshold for confirmation. 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court candidates When Democrats tried to stop Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Democrats say changes to the rules are wrong, especially as Senate Republicans require Democrats to vote to advance spending bills and other laws.
Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer last week said the Republican proposed plan “stymie the constitutional role of Senate advice and consent, weakens checks and balances, and ensures that historically poor candidates will get worse with even less surveillance.”
