Republicans Will Once Again Overcome Democrats’ Nominations Blockade

Despite Democrats’ Continued Attempts to Block Every Single Civilian Nomination, Senate Republicans Keep Confirming President Trump’s Team

WITH THE CONFIRMATION OF THIS FOURTH BATCH OF 49 NOMINATIONS, THE SENATE WILL HAVE ONCE AGAIN ESSENTIALLY ELIMINATED THE NOMINATIONS BACKLOG

The Senate is set to confirm its fourth batch of civilian nominations en bloc, adding 49 members to President Trump’s team. (Senate Republican Cloakroom: post on X – 5/14/26)

This batch will bring the total number of civilian nominations confirmed en bloc since Senate Republicans’ rules reform to 301 nominations – accounting for over 60% of those confirmed in President Trump’s second term. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 5/18/26)

Senate Republicans’ rules reform, which enables the confirmation of noncontroversial, lower-level presidential nominations in en bloc batches, has allowed Senate Republicans to expeditiously clear the nominations backlog. (U.S. Senate: Pending Nominations on the Executive Calendar (Civilian) – accessed 5/18/26)

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Republicans’ rules reform was only necessary because of Democrats’ historic obstruction: President Trump remains 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 5/18/26; The Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Thune Says Trump Nominees Are Being Confirmed At Rapid Pace Despite ‘Historic’ Obstruction – 6/14/25)

- By contrast, 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. (U.S. Congress: President George H.W. Bush Nominations 1989-1993 – accessed 5/18/26; U.S. Congress: President Bill Clinton Nominations 1993-1996 – accessed 5/18/26; U.S. Congress: President George W. Bush Nominations 2001-2004 – accessed 5/18/26; U.S. Congress: President Barack Obama Nominations 2009-2012 – accessed 5/18/26; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 5/18/26; U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 5/18/26)

Last September, “Democrats [had] blocked more nominees than ever before as they have struggled to find ways to oppose Trump and the GOP-dominated Congress, and as their voters have pushed them to fight Republicans at every turn.” (The Associated Press: Senate Republicans take first steps to change rules to speed up Trump’s nominees – 9/11/25)

To end Democrats’ obstruction and restore the Senate’s historical practice of confirming large batches of noncontroversial nominations, a united Republican conference voted in September to reform Senate rules to allow for en bloc consideration of certain civilian nominations. (The Hill: Senate GOP confirms first group of Trump nominees after changing rules – 9/18/25)

DEMOCRATS’ NEAR UNIVERSAL OPPOSITION TO EVERY NOMINATION FOR EVERY POSITION WAS ALSO ON FULL DISPLAY LAST WEEK WHEN THE SENATE CONFIRMED KEVIN WARSH AS CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE

“Mr. Warsh is a former Fed Governor whose 2006-2011 tenure overlapped with the 2008 financial panic and recession. He has also worked on Wall Street and in the White House under George W. Bush. Though he wasn’t in charge of the Fed at the time, Mr. Warsh’s experience in a crisis will be invaluable when the next one arrives, as it inevitably will. He has deep knowledge of global financial markets, and knows most of the global players—from Europe, to the U.K., Japan and China.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Kevin Warsh Is the Right Choice for the Fed – 1/30/26)

In 2006, Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced Warsh and praised his credentials at his nomination hearing to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. (U.S. Congress: S.Hrg. 109-956 – 2/14/06)

“Mr. Warsh is tremendously accomplished for a man his age, and for that reason, it is no surprise that he is already no stranger to the Federal Reserve… He knows unequivocally that the Fed must be independent, nonideological, and nonpartisan, and for this reason, I am proud to support his nomination.” – Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (2/14/06)
Warsh was later confirmed to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve by voice vote. (U.S. Congress: PN1199 — Kevin M. Warsh — Federal Reserve System – 2/17/06)

Despite Warsh’s qualifications, only one Senate Democrat voted to confirm him last week as chairman of the Federal Reserve, an unprecedented level of opposition. (PN855-1: Roll Call Vote #120 – 5/13/26; Reuters: Warsh clinches Senate approval to be Fed's next chair as inflation intensifies – 5/13/26)

“The vote was 54-45 in the most-partisan-ever U.S. Senate confirmation of a Fed chair. A single Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted with the Republican majority.” (Reuters: Warsh clinches Senate approval to be Fed's next chair as inflation intensifies – 5/13/26)

Also for the first time ever, not a single Senate Banking Committee Democrat voted to advance Warsh’s nomination, and only one committee Democrat even bothered to show up to the markup. (CNBC: Trump Fed pick Kevin Warsh clears key Senate hurdle, teeing up final vote – 4/29/26; U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Executive Session – 4/29/26; The New York Times: Warsh Clears an Early Hurdle on Path to Fed Chair – 4/29/26)

NO MATTER THE NOMINATION, DEMOCRATS WILL KEEP ATTEMPTING TO LAY DOWN ROADBLOCKS IN ORDER TO APPEASE THEIR LEFT-WING BASE

Since the very beginning of President Trump’s administration, Senate Democrats were determined to grind the nominations process to a halt:
- In early February, “Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, urged Democratic senators… to join him in voting against all of President Trump’s nominees…” (The New York Times: Schumer Urged Democrats to Oppose Trump Nominees in Protest of His Policies – 2/5/25)

- “Schumer defended his bare-knuckle tactics Monday, pledging to use ‘every tool at our disposal’ to fight back against what he called the ‘disastrous Donald Trump, Republican agenda.’” (The Hill: Democrats turn routine Trump nominees into pitched partisan battles – 7/29/25)

- “But even nominees who would be considered relatively noncontroversial in the past are requiring procedural setup votes and final votes split strictly along party lines to get confirmed.” (The Hill: Democrats turn routine Trump nominees into pitched partisan battles – 7/29/25)

- “I have decided that I’m not going to vote for a single nominee… This moment demands some extraordinary tactics.” – Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) (2/5/25)
- Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for “a halt on all Trump nominees” and “urged Democrats to ‘blow this place up.’” (Politico: ‘Blow this place up’: Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder – 2/5/25)

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