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 Board09.11.25Democrats’ Historic Obstruction Hits New LowsAs Senate Democrats Keep Eroding the Nominations Process, Senate Republicans Are Reforming the Rules to Sidestep Democrats’ Historic Obstruction and Get President Trump’s Team in Place LED BY SENATE DEMOCRAT LEADER SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS HAVE SUNK TO NEW LOWS IN BLOCKING SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY NOMINEES“For months, I’ve repeatedly tried to engage my Democratic colleagues to end their obstruction. I’ve warned that their tactics ultimately hurt the American people and will lead to lasting damage to the Senate as an institution … I’m disappointed that my Democratic colleagues have chosen to place partisan obstruction over public safety.” – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)This week Senate Democrats, led by Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), objected to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley’s motion to confirm a bipartisan batch of 10 U.S. attorney nominees by voice vote. (U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 171, No. 146 – 9/8/25) Due to blanket holds by Democrats, the Senate has only confirmed two U.S. attorneys so far this Congress. By contrast, 61 U.S. attorneys were confirmed by the Senate in the first Congress of President Biden’s term. (U.S. Congress: 119th Congress United States Attorney Nominees – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress:117th Congress United States Attorney Nominees – accessed 9/11/25)Leader Schumer and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have in the past both emphasized the need to swiftly confirm U.S. attorney nominations:“U.S. Attorneys and Marshals aren’t political positions—their job is literally to keep Americans safe… Right now, communities across the country still don’t have their U.S. Attorneys on the job because of obstruction here in the Senate.” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)“This is entirely unsustainable, which is something everyone here knows. Without Senate-confirmed leadership of U.S. Attorneys, public safety will suffer across the United States.” –Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)Schumer’s obstruction didn’t end with U.S. attorneys – he also forced the Senate to send dozens of nominees back to committee, objecting to procedural practices that senators on both sides regularly use to speed up noncontroversial committee work. (Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio: post on X – 9/9/25)“Last night, Schumer objected to a Grassley request to head off a Dem point of order on US attorney noms that were reported out of Judiciary by voice. Rule 26 is rarely invoked but can prevent noms from hitting floor if they were voiced or there were proxies on ‘yes’ side (Waltz).” (Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio: post on X – 9/9/25)“So Republicans proactively sent Waltz and a few others back to committee, where they’ll need to be re-voted. Schumer playing hardball amid GOP rules change effort. Could have big implications for cmtes which routinely allow voice/proxy votes when multiple cmtes meet at same time.” (Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio: post on X – 9/9/25)THESE ARE JUST THE LATEST EXAMPLES OF DEMOCRATS’ CONTINUED OBSTRUCTION, WHICH IS WHY REPUBLICANS ARE MOVING TO REFORM THE SENATE RULES“[T]he amendment to the rules Republicans are proposing is an idea with bipartisan pedigree. It would restore Senate precedent. And it would restore sanity to a confirmation process that Democrats and Republicans alike have complained is broken. Now, despite their historic blockade, I think a lot of my Democrat colleagues are well aware that we can’t continue as we are.” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)“These decisions from the Minority Leader have led us down a long road to today. We are putting forth an idea proposed by our Democrat colleagues just last Congress: Streamline the process by voting on blocks of nominees at the same time.” – Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.)“Senate Majority Leader John Thune took the first procedural step Monday night as part of Republicans’ effort to topple Democrats’ unprecedented blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees.” (Punchbowl News: AM: The Hill is waiting on Trump – 9/9/25)“The plan Thune teed up is based on a Democratic proposal… The GOP blueprint… would allow Republicans to pass an unlimited number of nominees in a single tranche, including scores of sub-Cabinet selections and picks to serve as U.S. attorneys.” (The Hill: Senate GOP tees up ‘nuclear option’ to end Democratic nominee blockade – 9/8/25)In 2023, Democrats introduced a rules change proposal “to expedite the process for confirming certain presidential nominees and reduce the backlog waiting for approval.” (Roll Call: Resolution would allow bulk Senate confirmation without UC – 5/23/23)Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Angus King (I-Maine) led the proposal, which “would allow the majority leader to call up to 10 nominees advanced out of the same committee to be considered at the same time for a vote, excluding certain positions like circuit court judges, Supreme Court justices and Cabinet secretaries.” (Roll Call: Resolution would allow bulk Senate confirmation without UC – 5/23/23)Republicans’ “rules change would not apply to [lifetime] judicial nominees, who would still be subject to the requisite… hours of floor consideration. Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees will still require 30 hours of consideration and are not eligible to be greenlighted in a bloc.” (The Hill: Senate GOP tees up ‘nuclear option’ to end Democratic nominee blockade – 9/8/25)Earlier this week, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) rejected Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) resolution to pass the Klobuchar-King proposal by unanimous consent on the Senate floor. (Sen. Cornyn: Dems Block Cornyn Resolution Allowing for Nomination Votes En Bloc, Paving Way for Senate Republicans to Expedite Confirmations – 9/9/25; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 171, No. 147 – 9/9/25)“Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, this Senate has been faced with an unprecedented number of highly extreme and unqualified, unfit nominees… I think there is a very good chance that we can pass this with a very simple amendment to make the resolution effective January 20, 2029.” – Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)“This is naked partisan obstruction… Democrat objections to changing the rules have nothing to do with preserving the institution integrity of the Senate and more to do with their crusade against President Trump and the American people, who elected him last November the 5th.” – Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)Just today, Senate Democrats again objected to consideration of a modified version of the Klobuchar-King proposal – a version that had bipartisan support among senators, but was nonetheless unacceptable to some in the Democrat caucus. (C-SPAN: Senate Session – 9/11/25; Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio: post on X – 9/11/25)“We’re asking you to vote on a Democrat proposal and you’re saying, ‘No, we won’t even vote on it; we won’t even get on it!’ Give me a break. Two years is not long enough? How about eight months? Eight months of this. Eight months of this.” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)THE NOMINEES IN THE FIRST BATCH UNDER CONSIDERATION CAME OUT OF COMMITTEES ON A BIPARTISAN BASIS AND ARE NOMINATED FOR ROLES THAT RARELY, IF EVER, REQUIRE ROLL CALL VOTES ON THE SENATE FLOOR“If these nominees are as ‘historically bad’ as the Democrat leader claims, why are Democrats voting for them in committee or on the Senate floor? Why have 62 of the 139 civilian nominees the Senate’s confirmed so far been confirmed with Democrat support? Why are Trump nominees emerging from committee with bipartisan support? Is the Democrat leader suggesting that his own members are supporting ‘historically bad’ nominees?” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)“Their behavior has set a new precedent. We want this Senate to work again. We want it to function once again… This is not what our founding fathers intended when they gave the Senate the power of advice and consent.” – Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.)“The nominees listed in the resolution span several departments and agencies. But they all have one thing in common: They were approved with bipartisan support in committee.” (Punchbowl News: AM: The Hill is waiting on Trump – 9/9/25)These positions have also traditionally been confirmed via voice vote in previous administrations:40% of the positions under consideration in the first package have not required roll call votes in any of the last three incoming administrations. (U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2025 – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress: President Barack Obama Nominations 2009-2012 – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 9/11/25)94% of the positions have been confirmed by voice vote at least once in the last three incoming administrations. (U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2025 – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress: President Barack Obama Nominations 2009-2012 – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 9/11/25; U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 9/11/25)Democrats have been delaying the confirmation of nominees with bipartisan support this entire Congress: 45% of all civilian nominees confirmed by the Senate this year received at least one Democrat vote. (U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session (2025) – 9/10/25)“What does this really mean? This really means that we are not moving anyone across the floor unless they actually have 3 hours of floor time… This was about attacking President Trump, not acknowledging the fact that he won the election and that he should be able to actually go through the process to be able to have his staff like every other President has had… Very simply, we have got to get back to legislating, which means we have got to allow the President to be able to have his nominees go through the process.” – Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.)PrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
