WASHINGTON — Republicans triggered the “nuclear” option for the second time in less than a week on Wednesday, unilaterally changing the Senate’s rules to confirm 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees with a single vote over the objections of Democrats.
Bitterly complaining about months of Democratic obstruction, GOP senators last week began the process of establishing a new precedent that now allows them to confirm scores of Trump’s nominees in large batches, rather than individually, with little to no debate. The rule applies to ambassadors and lower-ranking executive nominees only — at least for now.
“Senate Democrats are freezing the Senate Floor, freezing the federal government, and freezing our nation’s progress,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said ahead of the rules change on Wednesday. “This harms America’s safety. It hamstrings the agenda that Americans voted for.”
“It is time for the Senate to clear the nominations backlog and clear it quickly, and so we will,” he added. “That way, the Senate can get back to work of legislating, working on behalf of the American people.”
The list of Trump nominees expected to be confirmed on Thursday includes Trump allies like Kimberly Guilfoyle to be U.S. ambassador to Greece and Callista Gingrich to be U.S. ambassador to Switzerland. It also includes scores of largely noncontroversial nominees that received bipartisan support in committee.
