Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso is prepared to invoke the nuclear option to expedite the confirmation of President Trump’s nominees amid ongoing Democratic opposition.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has signaled his readiness to employ the nuclear option to overcome the Democratic blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees. As Senate Republicans prepared to leave Washington, D.C., for their home states, they were close to reaching an agreement with their Democratic counterparts to advance numerous non-controversial appointments. However, those discussions collapsed after Trump rejected further negotiations tied to funding demands from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Currently, there are 145 nominations pending on the Senate’s executive calendar, a number that is expected to increase when the Senate reconvenes. Lawmakers are set to return on Tuesday, and Barrasso is eager to address the nomination impasse immediately. He has been actively engaging in a public pressure campaign, including writing an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that directly criticizes Schumer.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Barrasso expressed his determination to see Trump’s nominees confirmed, stating, “We need to either get a lot of cooperation from the Democrats, or we’re going to have to roll over them with changes of the rules that we’re going to be able to do in a unilateral way, as well as President Trump making recess appointments.”
However, Senate Democrats, under Schumer’s leadership, are unlikely to cooperate. In response to Barrasso’s remarks, Schumer asserted that “historically bad nominees deserve a historic level of scrutiny by Senate Democrats.” Barrasso countered, pointing out that Schumer’s criticism stems solely from the fact that the nominees were put forward by Trump. “That is his sole criteria for which these people are being gone after and filibustered,” Barrasso said, noting that many nominees have bipartisan support.
Utilizing the nuclear option would enable Republicans to modify the confirmation process without Democratic assistance. However, this approach could hinder future negotiations on important legislative items that would require bipartisan support to advance past the Senate filibuster. Barrasso, undeterred by the potential consequences, indicated that the nominees under consideration are primarily for sub-Cabinet level positions and ambassadorships.
Discussions are ongoing regarding potential changes to the confirmation process, including adjustments to debate time and criteria for expedited nominations. Additionally, the possibility of allowing Trump to make recess appointments is under consideration, which would necessitate the Senate going into recess.
Barrasso highlighted the inefficiencies of the current process, noting that it takes three hours to conduct a single nomination vote, which significantly hampers legislative productivity. “When you take a look at this right now, it takes a 30-minute roll-call vote to get on cloture, and then two hours of debate time, and then another 30-minute roll-call vote,” he explained. “That’s three hours, and it’s time when you can’t do legislation, you can’t do any of the other things.”
As Congress prepares to return, Barrasso acknowledged the pressing need to address the backlog of nominations, particularly given the looming deadline to fund the government by September 30. He emphasized that the limited time available for the nominations process necessitates a rules change to expedite confirmations.
“This backlog is going to worsen this traffic jam at the Schumer toll booth,” Barrasso warned. “So, we are going to do something, because this cannot stand.”
Source: Original article