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The Leader Board • Remarks
July 28th, 2026

Senate Republicans Begin to Process Fifth En Bloc Batch of Trump Nominations

Outpacing the First Trump Administration on Nearly Every Metric, the 119th Senate Continues Working Swiftly to Get President Trump’s Second-Term Nominees in Place

THE SENATE HAS BEGUN THE PROCESS OF CONFIRMING THE FIFTH BATCH OF CIVILIAN NOMINATIONS SINCE REPUBLICANS’ RULES REFORM, SETTING THE TABLE FOR ANOTHER 74 CONFIRMATIONS NEXT WEEK

  • On Monday, the Senate began consideration of the next batch of en bloc nominations, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) filing cloture on the executive resolution providing for the batch. (U.S. Congress: S.Res. 817 – accessed 7/28/26)
  • After the 74 nominations are confirmed next week, the Senate will be well ahead of the confirmation pace of the first Trump administration:

(Click here to download)

  • This batch contains 74 of President Trump’s well-qualified nominations, including:
    • 17 ambassadorships
    • 4 U.S. attorneys
    • 4 U.S. marshals
    • 1 deputy secretary
    • 4 under secretaries
    • 12 assistant secretaries
    • The commissioner of labor statistics
    • The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
    • The administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
    • The deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (U.S. Congress: S.Res. 817 – accessed 7/28/26)
  • This batch will bring the total number of civilian nominations confirmed en bloc since Senate Republicans’ rules reform to 375 nominations – accounting for about 63% of those confirmed in President Trump’s second term. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump’s Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 7/28/26)

THE SENATE HAS ALSO CONFIRMED 24% MORE ARTICLE III JUDGES THIS TERM THAN AT THIS POINT IN PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FIRST TERM

  • Last week, the Senate confirmed four additional Article III judges to federal appellate and district courts:
    • Benjamin M. Flowers to be U.S. circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit
    • Michael C. Martin to be U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Michigan
    • Daniel Mack Traynor to be U.S. circuit judge for the Eighth Circuit
    • Antonio M. Pozos to be U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump’s Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 7/28/26)
  • These confirmations bring the total number confirmed in President Trump’s second term to 52, well outpacing those at this point in his first administration:

(Click here to download)

  • Flowers, an attorney in private practice who served as solicitor general of Ohio from 2019-2023 and as a clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, “developed a healthy respect for the states and state law and federalism” during his time as solicitor general. (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nomination Hearing – 5/20/26)
  • Martin, a “longtime federal prosecutor” who “most recently was the criminal chief for the US attorney’s office” in the Eastern District of Michigan, received blue slips from both Michigan senators. (Bloomberg Law: Trump’s Blue State Court Pick Confirmed With Democratic Backing – 7/22/26)
  • Traynor, who has served as a U.S. district judge for the District of North Dakota since 2020 and is a former member of the North Dakota Board of Higher Education, touted the importance of judicial restraint and noted his experience as a district judge to describe the kind of judge he aspires to be on the Eighth Circuit. (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nomination Hearing – 6/10/26)
  • Pozos, also an attorney in private practice, “previously was a federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s criminal fraud section” and received a blue slip from Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). (Bloomberg Law: Fetterman-Endorsed Trump Nominee Confirmed to US Trial Court – 7/23/26)

REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO PREVAIL OVER DEMOCRATS’ MINDLESS OBSTRUCTION OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED, BIPARTISAN, AND WIDELY PRAISED NOMINEES

  • The Republican rules reform that allows for en bloc confirmations was only necessary because of Democrats’ historic obstruction: Until two weeks ago, President Trump was the only president on record not to have a single civilian nomination confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent. (U.S. Congress: 119th Congress Nominations – accessed 7/28/26; The Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Thune Says Trump Nominees Are Being Confirmed At Rapid Pace Despite ‘Historic’ Obstruction – 6/14/25
  • On July 16, five civilian nominations were confirmed by voice vote, the first time that Democrats allowed any voice-vote confirmations during President Trump’s second term. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump’s Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 7/28/26)
  • President Trump has now had 1% of his nominations confirmed by voice vote, still drastically behind the pace of previous administrations:
    • 98% of Presidents George H.W. Bush’s and Bill Clinton’s first-term civilian nominations, 90% of Presidents George W. Bush’s and Barack Obama’s first-term civilian nominations, 65% of President Trump’s first-term civilian nominations, and 57% of President Biden’s civilian nominations were confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump’s Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 7/28/26; U.S. Congress: President George H.W. Bush Nominations 1989-1993 – accessed 7/28/26; U.S. Congress: President Bill Clinton Nominations 1993-1996 – accessed 7/28/26; U.S. Congress: President George W. Bush Nominations 2001-2004 – accessed 7/28/26; U.S. Congress: President Barack Obama Nominations 2009-2012 – accessed 7/28/26; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 7/28/26; U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 7/28/26)
  • President Trump has had zero nominations to federal judgeships confirmed by voice vote so far in his second term, compared to 33 over the course of his first term. (U.S. Congress: President Trump Judicial Nominations (2017-2020) – accessed 7/28/26)
  • Democrats have also obstructed the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as director of national intelligence, despite him being well qualified and widely praised:
    • “The Senate Intelligence Committee has advanced the nomination of Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies, along party lines. The 9-8 vote came after some Democrats had praised Clayton and indicated that they might vote for him.” (The Washington Post: Senate panel advances Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead US intelligence agencies – 7/21/26)
    • Democrats objected to fast-tracking Clayton’s confirmation last week, forcing the Senate to vote on his confirmation this evening. (Punchbowl News: AM: House Republicans’ final-week gauntlet – 7/20/26)
    • “Clayton is a lawyer who has been the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York since 2025, where he has secured indictments for high-profile foreign and domestic defendants including former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and two men who allegedly attempted a terrorist attack on the New York mayoral residence in March. Though he faced tough questions [last] Wednesday, his nomination last month drew praise from several Democrats.” (The Hill: Democrats press intel nominee Jay Clayton in tense confirmation hearing – 7/15/26)
  • And just last week, some Democrat senators faced backlash from their party’s left flank over their support for two of President Trump’s judicial nominations:
    • “President Donald Trump’s first blue state judicial pick of his current term garnered rare double-digit support from Democrats, despite repeated calls from progressive groups for them to reject confirming his nominees.”
    • “Democratic support for Trump nominees has generated backlash from progressives, who argue that the party should unilaterally oppose his picks.” (Bloomberg Law: Trump’s Blue State Court Pick Confirmed With Democratic Backing – 7/22/26)
    • “Progressive advocacy group Demand Justice in June said it would target Fetterman in a six-figure ad buy over his decision to allow Pozos’ nomination to move forward.” (Bloomberg Law: Fetterman-Endorsed Trump Nominee Confirmed to US Trial Court – 7/23/26)
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