Majority Leader | Remark | Remarks | THE NEWSROOM | Repub...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 NEWSROOMRemarks09.02.25Thune Issues Warning to Senate Democrat Obstructionists“[I]f Democrats continue to obstruct … then we’re going to have to take steps to get this process back on a reasonable footing.” Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “Mr. President, it’s been a very busy year here in the United States Senate. “From confirming President Trump’s nominees, to repealing burdensome Biden administration regulations, to passing the One Big Beautiful Bill to prevent a massive tax hike on hardworking Americans, Republicans have been hard at work delivering on the mandate we received from the American people. “The Senate has taken, so far, 499 votes this year – more than in any Congress at this point in the last 35-plus years. “In fact, we’ve taken more votes in 2025 already – in eight months – than the Senate has taken in a full 12 months for most – all but two – of the past 36 years. “But we have a lot more work to do. “And we’re going to get it done. “That starts this week with consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act – one of the most important pieces of legislation that we consider every year. “That will be followed by continued appropriations work so that we can get the government funded by the September 30 deadline. “We’ve already done some good work on appropriations – in fact, for the first time in years we went into August having passed three of the 12 appropriations bills. “The last time that happened, a single appropriations bill passed before the August break, was [2018]. “But needless to say there is a lot more to do. “And I hope, Mr. President, that our Democrat colleagues will resist the calls from within for a shutdown and work with us to fund the government. “Mr. President, along with the National Defense Authorization Act and funding the government, we have another important task to accomplish in the coming weeks – and that is making major headway on confirming more of President Trump’s nominees. “Thanks to a lot of hours here in the Senate to overcome Democrat obstruction, we went into August having confirmed 135 of the president’s civilian nominees – more than had been confirmed by this point in his first term. “But there are a lot more nominees to go. “And I’m here to tell my Democrat colleagues that their historic obstruction cannot continue. “Mr. President, when voters elect a president, that comes with certain expectations – one of which is that a president will be able to fill up his or her administration with his or her nominees. “And historically the Senate has reflected that by confirming most of a president’s civilian nominees by unanimous consent or voice vote – which means, without obstruction and blocking. “President George H. W. Bush had 98 percent of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote here in the Senate. “So did President Clinton. “President George W. Bush and President Obama both had 90 percent of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. “But things changed during the first Trump administration – Democrats started obstructing nominees who would previously have been confirmed without a drawn-out process. “But even so, both President Trump in his first administration and President Biden had more than half of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. “Without a long, drawn-out process. “Fast forward to 2025. “As of today, September 2, President Trump has not had a single one – single one – of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. “Not a single one, Mr. President. “By this point in his administration, President Biden had had 76. “Seventy-six confirmed – without dragging it out, delaying, and blocking, and obstructing. “So when I say that President Trump’s nominees have faced a historic level of obstruction, Mr. President, I’m not being political or hyperbolic. “I am doing nothing more than stating the bare facts. “Between the calendar and committees, we currently have nominees pending for a total of 302 civilian positions. “Ninety-five percent of those positions – 95 percent – were confirmed by voice vote at least once during the previous three incoming administrations. “And yet Democrats seem unwilling to expedite consideration for a single one. “Mr. President, this cannot continue. “The American people elected President Trump, and like any president, he deserves to be able to fill up his administration. “In fact, we owe the voters nothing less. “Now, that doesn’t mean rubber-stamping every nominee, but it does mean an end to the ridiculous – and I mean ridiculous – delays on every nomination, including on nominations that Democrats ended up supporting in significant numbers. “And I say that, Mr. President – supporting in significant numbers – because let’s be clear here. “The Democrat leader might like people to think Democrats are holding up all these nominees because they are, in his words, ‘historically bad,’ but in fact at least some Democrats have ultimately voted in favor of many of these nominations. “Sixty-one out of the 135 civilian nominees confirmed received at least one Democrat vote on final confirmation. “And fully half of the civilian nominees currently on the calendar were reported out of committee with bipartisan support. “Democrats aren’t holding up nominations to minor administration positions out of principled opposition; they’re holding them up because they don’t like President Trump. “Well, that’s not a good reason, Mr. President. “And Democrats’ obstruction is not only preventing voters from getting the administration they elected, it’s also slowing down the essential business of the United States Senate. “Over August, Mr. President, my colleagues and I discussed various ways of addressing this problem and expediting confirmations. “And there are a lot of options on the table – none of which, I might add, would be necessary if the Senate Democrats treated this president [how] Republican and Democrat Senates have treated … Republican and Democrat presidents for all of American history. “In fact, Mr. President, you’d have to go back a long ways in the annals of history to find a time – in fact, we went as far back as the Hoover administration, as far back as I think we could find records and data – to find a president who didn’t have at least one of his nominees confirmed here in the Senate by voice vote or unanimous consent at this point in their administration. “In fact, the majority of presidential confirmations were conducted on a bipartisan basis for a long time here in the Senate, and there’s no reason we couldn’t go back to that right now. “All it takes is a little behavioral change and a willingness to acknowledge President Trump won an election, the American people voted for him, and they expect him to be able to populate his administration with the people that he wants to serve in many of these positions. “But if Democrats continue to obstruct, if they continue to drag out confirmation of every single one of the nominations of a duly elected president, if they continue to slow the Senate’s business to such a drastic degree, then we’re going to have to take steps to get this process back on a reasonable footing. “This is not sustainable, Mr. President. “You can’t run a government this way. “It’s never been done before – ever, ever – in history. “This is not a sustainable business model. “And one way or the other, it’s going to have to get fixed. “The Democrats can play ball – the way every Democrat and Republican Senate have, going back as far as we can find in the annals of history – or things are going to have to change around here. “It’s as simple as that. “And the ball, I would say, Mr. President, is in the Democrats’ court.”PrintEmailTweetNextPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
