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 Board12.18.25The Senate Just Confirmed a Batch of 97 Nominations, Capping Off a Historic YearDespite Unprecedented Democrat Obstruction, Senate Republicans Have Confirmed Well Over 400 of President Trump’s Civilian Nominations This Year - Far Outpacing the Last Two Administrations (Click here to download)THE SENATE HAS NOW CONFIRMED ITS THIRD BATCH OF EN BLOC NOMINATIONS SINCE REPUBLICANS’ RULES REFORMTonight, the Senate confirmed the en bloc batch of 97 nominees by a vote of 53-43. (Senate Republican Cloakroom: post on X – 12/18/25)“Senate Republicans confirmed nearly 100 of President Donald Trump's nominees, leapfrogging previous administrations and his own first term in the process in their sprint to finish off the year. The confirmation of 97 of Trump’s picks on Thursday marked one of the final bits of floor action in the upper chamber following a blistering pace set out by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., once Republicans gained control of the Senate in January.” (Fox News: Trump gets 417 nominees confirmed by Senate in 2025, surpasses Biden's first-year total in record pace – 12/18/25)In September, a united Senate Republican Conference voted to reform Senate rules to allow for en bloc consideration of certain civilian nominations “to break a months-long blockade put up by the Democrats.” (The Hill: Senate GOP confirms first group of Trump nominees after changing rules – 9/18/25)Nominations in Republicans’ third en bloc batch include “former Republican New York Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who is set to serve in a senior role at the Department of Labor and two picks for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) — James Murphy and Scott Mayer — in addition to 94 others across the federal government.” (The Daily Caller: Trump, Senate GOP Clobber Biden’s Confirmation Numbers As Year Comes To Close – 12/15/25)This batch of en bloc nominations is the third this year, following two earlier batches of 48 and 107 nominations. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 12/18/25; 119th U.S. Senate: Roll Call Vote #526 – 9/18/25; 119th U.S. Senate: Roll Call Vote #547 – 10/7/25)This reform was necessary due to historic Democrat obstruction: President Trump remains the only president on record to not have a single civilian nomination confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 12/18/25)Republicans’ rules reform has returned the Senate to its historical practice of confirming a majority of a president’s civilian nominations in batches:Through this third batch, over 60% of President Trump’s civilian nominations confirmed this year have been via en bloc batches. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 12/18/25)President Biden had 57% of his civilian nominations confirmed via voice vote, President Trump had65% of his civilian nominations confirmed via voice vote in his first term, Presidents Obama and George W. Bush had 90% of their civilian nominations confirmed via voice vote in their first terms, and Presidents Clinton (in his first term) and George H.W. Bush had roughly 98% of their civilian confirmations confirmed via voice vote or unanimous consent. (U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President Barack Obama Nominations 2009-2012 – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President George W. Bush Nominations 2001-2004 – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President Bill Clinton Nominations 1993-1996 – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President George H.W. Bush Nominations 1989-1993 – accessed 12/18/25)WHETHER IT BE THE CABINET, JUDGES, OR U.S. ATTORNEYS, SENATE REPUBLICANS HAVE OVERCOME HISTORIC DEMOCRAT OBSTRUCTION TO GET THE PRESIDENT’S TEAM IN PLACESenate Republicans kicked off the year by confirming President Trump’s Cabinet at the fastest rate in over 20 years, faster than the previous three administrations. (U.S. Senate: Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Cabinet Nominations – accessed 12/18/25; PN78-10: Roll Call Vote #3 – 1/20/21; PN78-21: Roll Call Vote #64 – 2/23/21; PN78-17: Roll Call Vote #72 – 3/2/21; PN78-16: Roll Call Vote #116 – 3/10/21; PN78-9: Roll Call Vote #121 – 3/16/21; PN78-18: Roll Call Vote #123 – 3/17/21; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 51 – 3/18/21; U.S. Senate: Donald J. Trump Cabinet Nominations – accessed 12/18/25; PN43: Roll Call Vote #32 – 1/23/17; PN51: Roll Call Vote #33 – 1/24/17; PN48: Roll Call Vote #65 – 2/14/17; PN54: Roll Call Vote #68 – 2/16/17; PN44: Roll Call Vote #71 – 2/17/17; PN41: Roll Call Vote #89 – 3/15/17; U.S. Senate: Barack H. Obama Cabinet Nominations – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 155, No. 11 – 1/20/09; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 155, No. 13 – 1/22/09; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 155, No. 17 – 1/28/09; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 155, No. 29 – 2/12/09; PN64-9: Roll Call Vote #100 – 3/18/09; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 155, No. 56 – 4/3/09)Then, the Senate confirmed 10 of President Trump’s ambassador nominees in the first 100 days of his administration – more than the totals of the incoming Biden, first Trump, Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, and George H.W. Bush administrations. (Center for Presidential Transition: Joe Biden’s First Year in Office: Nominations and Confirmations – 1/9/22; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 139, Part 5 – 3/31/93; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 139, Part 6 – 4/2/93;U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 139, Part 1 – 1/26/93; U.S. Congress: PN226 — Terence A. Todman — Department of State – 4/19/89; U.S. Congress: PN221 — James Roderick Lilley — Department of State – 4/19/89; U.S. Congress: PN214 — Michael Hayden Armacost — Department of State – 4/19/89; U.S. Congress: PN209 — Vernon A. Walters — Department of State – 4/13/89; U.S. Congress: PN208 — Henry E. Catto — Department of State – 4/13/89; PN143: Roll Call Vote #19 – 3/7/89)“Senate Republicans have also confirmed 26 federal judges to serve on district and circuit courts this year.” (The Daily Caller: Trump, Senate GOP Clobber Biden’s Confirmation Numbers As Year Comes To Close – 12/15/25)“More than 30 of Trump’s U.S. attorneys will also have won confirmation before the Christmas recess.” (The Daily Caller: Trump, Senate GOP Clobber Biden’s Confirmation Numbers As Year Comes To Close – 12/15/25)Through the third batch, the Senate has confirmed 417 of President Trump’s civilian nominations, far outpacing the Biden and first Trump administrations through the end of their first year. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 12/18/25)Confirmation of the 97 nominations in the third en bloc batch clears roughly 85% of the civilian nominations backlog. (U.S. Senate: Pending Nominations on the Executive Calendar (Civilian) – accessed 12/18/25)(Click here to download)And thanks to Senate Republicans’ efforts this year, the civilian nominations backlog will be far smaller at the end of this year than it was at the end of President Biden’s first year in 2021 and President Trump’s first year in 2017. (U.S. Senate: Pending Nominations on the Executive Calendar (Civilian) – accessed 12/18/25; 115th U.S. Senate: Executive Calendar, Final Issue, First Session – accessed 12/18/25; 117th U.S. Senate: Executive Calendar, Final Issue, First Session – accessed 12/18/25)This success has been in the face of historic Democrat obstruction of President Trump’s nominations:Senate Democrats continue to hold up nearly every single one of President Trump’s nominations, requiring time-consuming cloture votes on the vast majority of them, including many that eventually receive bipartisan votes on the Senate floor. (U.S. Senate: Cloture Motions - 119th Congress – accessed 12/18/25; Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 12/18/25)Democrats have required that every single Trump civilian nomination have a roll-call confirmation vote, a level of obstruction unprecedented in modern times. (U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session (2025) – accessed 12/18/25)Senate Democrats have been delaying and obstructing President Trump’s nominations from the very beginning of his term, including waging “trench warfare” on critical national security nominations. (Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio: post on X – 1/21/25; Politico: The Senate readies for a nominee siege – 1/21/25; Punchbowl News: Thune threatens weekend votes as Dems stall Trump Cabinet picks – 1/22/25)THE SENATE HAS WORKED OVERTIME TO CONFIRM THESE NOMINATIONS AND ENACT THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA FOR HARDWORKING AMERICANSThe Senate has taken 655 votes through the third en bloc batch, eclipsing the Senate vote totals of every year except one going back to 1947. (U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session (2025) – accessed 12/18/25)Because of Democrats’ historic obstruction, roughly 54% of the Senate’s votes through the third en bloc batch have been related to nominations. (U.S. Senate: Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 1st Session (2025) – accessed 12/18/25)(Click here to download)Through November 30, without even taking December 2025 into account, the 119th Senate was in session 1,180 hours – which is already above the average of the last 78 full years (1,076 hours). (GovInfo: Résumé of Congressional Activity – 12/1/25; U.S. Senate: Résumé of Congressional Activity (1947 to Present) – accessed 12/18/25)Weekend work: There have been four Saturday sessions and two Sunday sessions this year. This is approximately twice the average of Saturday sessions in the last 57 years and approximately four times the average of Sunday sessions in the last 78 years. (U.S. Senate: Saturday Sessions of the Senate (1968-Present) – accessed 12/18/25; U.S. Senate: Sunday Sessions of the Senate (1861-Present) – accessed 12/18/25)PrintEmailTweetNextPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
