Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will move to confirm the nominations for several top Trump administration positions this week, including Rep. John Ratcliffe, President Trump’s pick to serve as the director of national intelligence.
In a Senate floor speech on Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican said Ratcliffe would be among four nominations he will push to confirm before lawmakers leave town for the Memorial Day recess.
“I hope our Democratic colleagues will not block the Senate from filling these key national security vacancies before we adjourn later this week,” McConnell said.
Confirming Ratcliffe and the three additional nominations without adhering to the regular debate time requirement would require consent from Democrats, which is unlikely.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, is leading the opposition to Ratcliffe, who he believes is a Trump loyalist unfit to be DNI.
Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican, cleared the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee along party lines on Tuesday. Ratcliffe, during his confirmation hearing earlier this month, pledged that he would serve independently.
In addition to Ratcliffe, McConnell wants to clear the nominations of Kenneth Braithwaite as secretary of the Navy, Charles Brown Jr. as the next Air Force chief of staff, and James Anderson as Defense Department undersecretary for policy.
