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Lawmaker says Democrats are blocking Trump nominees from unanimous-consent confirmations
Summary
On the Senate floor a lawmaker accused Democratic senators of systematically preventing President Trump’s nominees from being confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote, arguing that the practice wastes floor time and contradicts committee-level bipartisan approvals.
A lawmaker on the Senate floor accused Democratic senators of blocking 100% of President Trump’s nominees from being confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote, saying the practice is partisan obstruction that consumes floor time and delays other legislative business.
The lawmaker said, “Democrats have blocked 100%, that is 100% of President Trump's nominees from being confirmed by unanimous consent or by voice vote,” and argued that these were noncontroversial nominees that had already won bipartisan support in committee.
Why it matters: The speaker presented the pattern as a procedural change with real effects on Senate workflow, asserting that the inability to clear noncontroversial nominees quickly prevents the chamber from moving on to other legislative priorities. The lawmaker said confirmations that previously moved by unanimous consent are now tied up on the floor.
The speaker cited historical benchmarks to contrast current practice, saying confirmations cleared by unanimous consent or voice vote fell from about 90% under President Obama to roughly 65% during President Trump’s first term and mentioning 57% under President Biden before asserting that the current term shows 0% cleared by unanimous consent so far.
The lawmaker also emphasized that many nominees ‘‘made it through committee with bipartisan support on the record’’ yet could not be cleared on the floor without using significant floor time, calling the tactic ‘‘holding nominees for ransom’’ and characterizing it as partisanship that contributes to low congressional approval ratings.
The remarks were delivered as a single-floor statement and concluded with the speaker saying, “The American people deserve better. Republicans are ready to deliver,” before yielding the floor.
The floor statement reflects the lawmaker’s characterization of Senate procedure and statistics; the transcript records the assertions as the speaker’s claims rather than as independently verified facts.
