Majority Leader | Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSR...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board07.24.25Amid Historic Democrat Obstruction, Republicans Keep Confirming President Trump’s NomineesThis Week, Senate Republicans Confirmed 11 More Civilian Nominees, Keeping the Senate at Nearly Double the Pace of 2017 Despite Democrats’ Desperate Attempts to Slow Down the Process (Click here to download) THE SENATE HAS CONFIRMED 52 MORE CIVILIAN NOMINEES THAN AT THIS POINT IN THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND KEPT UP THE PACE THIS WEEKThe Senate has confirmed 107 civilian nominees, nearly doubling the pace of the first Trump administration (55) at this point in time. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominees – accessed 7/24/25)This week, the Senate confirmed the following Trump administration nominees:Terrance Cole, to be administrator of drug enforcement, 50-47. (PN26-11: Roll Call Vote #419 – 7/22/25)Joshua M. Divine, to be United States district judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, 51-46. (PN150-2: Roll Call Vote #420 – 7/22/25)Cristian M. Stevens, to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, 50-47. (PN150-6: Roll Call Vote #421 – 7/22/25)Aaron Lukas, to be principal deputy director of national intelligence, 51-46. (PN26-27: Roll Call Vote #424 – 7/22/25)Bradley Hansell, to be under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, 61-35. (PN22-7: Roll Call Vote #425 – 7/22/25)Arielle Roth, to be assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, 52-41. (PN22-25: Roll Call Vote #426 – 7/23/25)John Hurley, to be under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes, 51-47. (PN24-3: Roll Call Vote #427 – 7/23/25)Zachary M. Bluestone, to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, 49-47. (PN150-1: Roll Call Vote #430 – 7/23/25)Aaron Szabo, to be assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 49-47. (PN25-53: Roll Call Vote #432 – 7/23/25)Matthew Lohmmeier, to be under secretary of the Air Force, 52-46. (PN22-15: Roll Call Vote #434 – 7/24/25)Richard Topping, to be chief financial officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 51-47. (PN35-54: Roll Call Vote #436 – 7/24/25)Thanks in large part to its dedication to getting President Trump’s team in place, the Senate has taken 437 votes, which is more than every Congress at this point in the last 35-plus years, and already more votes taken by the Senate in all but four of those years. (U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session (2025) – accessed 7/24/25)(Click here to download)IN AN ATTEMPT TO SLOW DOWN THE CONFIRMATION PROCESS, DEMOCRATS HAVE RESORTED TO HISTORIC AND UNPRECEDENTED OBSTRUCTION“If they set this as a new precedent, whenever they get the White House again and have the Senate again, it’s going to get really ugly… It’s hard to justify and defend a practice that they’re employing today that literally is unprecedented in history.” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) “Over the last six months, the Senate has moved at a breakneck pace to confirm the president’s nominees all while facing resistance from Senate Democrats.” (Fox News: 'All the options': GOP eyes cutting August recess to move dozens of Trump nominees stalled by Dems – 7/21/25)“Democrats’ only leverage has been to make progress as miserable as possible.” (Axios: Thune stuck between Trump's demands, members' recess plans – 7/21/25)“Democrats’ roadblocks are the worst they’ve ever been, according to Thune. Senate GOP leadership has been forced to burn finite floor time to process each nominee individually since the opening days of the administration given Democrats’ sweeping blockade of Senate-confirmed positions.” (The Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: John Thune Says Dems’ Unprecedented ‘Obstruction’ Will Cost Them Next Time They’re In Power – 7/24/25)“Democrats haven’t allowed a single Trump nominee to be confirmed via unanimous consent this year, a process that doesn’t require a formal roll-call vote. Republicans occasionally did the same to former President Joe Biden, yet not on the scale that Trump faces.” (Punchbowl News: Midday: Why Trump wants Thune to cancel August recess – 7/21/25)In fact, President Trump is the only president on record to not have a single civilian nominee confirmed via voice vote or unanimous consent at this point in his presidency. (U.S. Congress: 119th Congress Nominees – accessed 7/24/25; The Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Thune Says Trump Nominees Are Being Confirmed At Rapid Pace Despite ‘Historic’ Obstruction – 6/14/25)By comparison, by the end of August 2021, over 50% of President Biden’s confirmed civilian nominees were confirmed via voice vote. (U.S. Congress: 117th Congress Nominees – accessed 7/24/25)This Democrat obstruction also significantly outweighs 2017: Nearly 60% of President Trump’s confirmed civilian nominees through August of that year had been confirmed via voice vote. (U.S. Congress: 115th Congress Nominees – accessed 7/24/25) DEMOCRATS HAVE EVEN FORCED CLOTURE VOTES ON NOMINEES WHO ULTIMATELY RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM 60 OR MORE SENATORS“Democrats are in no mood to help Republicans clear these nominees, even the non-controversial ones.” (Punchbowl News: Midday: Why Trump wants Thune to cancel August recess – 7/21/25)Through July 24 of President Trump’s first year of his second administration in 2025, 106 of President Trump’s 107 confirmed civilian nominees have required a cloture vote. (U.S. Senate: Cloture Motions - 119th Congress – accessed 7/24/25; Congress.gov: 119th Congress Nominees – accessed 7/24/25)“Democrats have refused to concede time on any of the nominations.” (The Hill: Senate GOP faces tough call over Trump’s demand to cancel recess – 7/21/25)“Safe to assume pretty much every Trump nominee has a Dem hold on them at this point. Otherwise they’d be moving through the floor a lot more quickly and without cloture votes.” (Semafor’s Burgess Everett: post on X – 5/13/25)“Some of these are targeted holds by Democrats, while others are blanket holds. For example, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is holding all State Department picks, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is holding all Justice Department political appointees. Democrats have placed similar holds on EPA and VA noms, too.” (Punchbowl News: Midday: Why Trump wants Thune to cancel August recess – 7/21/25)Democrats have even forced cloture votes on 22 noncontroversial civilian nominees that ultimately received at least 60 votes upon final confirmation. (U.S. Senate: Cloture Motions - 119th Congress – accessed 7/24/25; Congress.gov: 119th Congress Nominees – accessed 7/24/25)Many of those bipartisan nominees supported by 60 or more senators include vital Cabinet positions, officials at the Department of Defense, and ambassadors to crucial U.S. allies. (PN11-1: Roll Call Vote #19 – 1/27/25; PN11-19: Roll Call Vote #13 – 1/23/25; PN12-12: Roll Call Vote #90 – 2/25/25; PN12-36: Roll Call Vote #136 – 3/24/25; PN25-14: Roll Call Vote #195 – 4/8/25; PN25-18: Roll Call Vote #202 – 4/9/25)PrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
