Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon at the CapitolTuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon at the CapitolTuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Senate Republicans poised to change rules to speed up Trump’s nominees
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Senate Republicans are taking the first steps to change the chamber鈥檚 rules on Thursday, making it easier to confirm groups of President Donald Trump鈥檚 nominees and overcome Democratic delays.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon at the CapitolTuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Senate Republicans are taking the first steps to change the chamber鈥檚 rules on Thursday, making it easier to confirm groups of President Donald Trump鈥檚 nominees and overcome Democratic delays.
Senate move is the latest salvo after a dozen years of gradual changes by both parties to weaken the filibuster and make the nominations process more partisan. He has said the Democrats鈥 obstruction is 鈥渦nsustainable鈥 as they have drawn out the confirmation process and infuriated Trump as many positions in his administration have remained unfilled.
Opening up the Senate, Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said that the delays have prevented the Senate from spending time on legislative business.
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鈥淲e鈥檙e going to fix this today, and restore the longtime Senate precedent of expeditious confirmation, and the Senate鈥檚 role as first and foremost a legislative body,鈥 Thune said.
Republicans are taking a series of procedural votes Thursday on a group of 48 of Trump鈥檚 nominees, and are expected to vote to 鈥渙verturn the chair,鈥 or change the rules, which takes a simple majority vote. If all goes according to their plan, the nominees 鈥 undersecretaries and staff positions for various agencies across the government as well as several ambassadors 鈥 could be confirmed by next week.
The rules change effort comes as both parties have obstructed the other鈥檚 nominees for years, and as both Republicans and Democrats have advocated speeding the process when they are in the majority. The Republican rules change stops short of speeding up votes on high-level Cabinet officials and lifetime judicial appointments, and it is loosely based on a proposal from Democrats under President Joe Biden.
Republicans have been pushing the rules change since early August, when the Senate left for a monthlong recess after a and Trump told Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to 鈥淕O TO HELL!鈥 on social media.
Democrats have blocked more nominees than ever before as they have struggled to find ways to oppose Trump and the GOP-dominated Congress, and as their voters have pushed them to fight Republicans at every turn. It鈥檚 the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn鈥檛 allowed at least some quick confirmations.
Schumer has said Democrats are delaying the nominations because Trump鈥檚 nominees are 鈥渉istorically bad.鈥
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鈥淚f you don鈥檛 debate nominees, if you don鈥檛 vote on individual nominees, if there鈥檚 not some degree of sunlight, what will stop Donald Trump from nominating even worse individuals than we鈥檝e seen to date, knowing this chamber will rubber stamp anything he wishes?鈥 Schumer said Monday.
Schumer told Republicans that they will 鈥渃ome to regret鈥 their action 鈥 echoing a similar warning from GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2013, when Democrats for executive branch and lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations. At the time, Republicans were blocking President Barack Obama鈥檚 picks.
Republicans took the Senate majority a year later, and McConnell eventually in 2017 as Democrats tried to block Trump鈥檚 nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
鈥淚 say to my Republican colleagues, think carefully before taking this step,鈥 Schumer said.
