Senate Republicans are slamming Democrats for obstructing the confirmation processes of more than 100 of President Trump’s nominees during his first two years in office
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., office charged Wednesday that 128 of Trump’s nominees have faced votes to end debate on those candidates, a practice Republicans say is aimed at slowing down the pace of considering them. According to data from McConnell’s office, the last six presidents combined saw just 24 of these procedural votes for their nominees during their first two years in office.
Republicans have complained throughout Trump’s term that Democrats are opposed to nearly everyone, and are looking for any way to slow down the process of considering Trump’s nominees. On Wednesday, McConnell complained on the Senate floor again about Democratic tactics.
“This week, however, we need to make more progress on the backlog of important executive branch nominees who Democrats’ delaying tactics and obstruction have left languishing on the Senate calendar,” McConnell said.
He added that the Democratic practice is “emblematic of the unreasonable tactics that have sadly become their standard operating procedure in many cases.”
By using current Senate rules to demand a vote to end debate on nominees, Democrats are able to delay final votes on these candidates by 30 hours. Republicans have considered whether they should change Senate rules so that only eight hours would have to elapse after these procedural votes, instead of 30.
[Related: GOP moves toward nuclear option to speed up Trump nominees]
