04.30.26

Senate Republicans Move a Fourth Batch of Nominations to Quickly Confirm President Trump’s Team

Thanks to Senate Republicans’ Nominations Rules Reform, President Trump Has Almost No Backlog of Nominations Still Awaiting Confirmation

AFTER CONFIRMATION OF THIS BATCH OF NEARLY 50 EN BLOC NOMINATIONS, THE SENATE WILL HAVE CONFIRMED OVER 60% OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NOMINATIONS IN BATCHES

  • The Senate will take an initial procedural vote today to tee up a batch of 49 of President Trump’s civilian nominations. (U.S. Senate Republican Cloakroom: post on X – 4/29/26)
  • This is the fourth batch of en bloc nominations the Senate has considered since September, when Republicans reformed Senate rules to allow for the en bloc consideration of civilian nominations by roll call vote. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 4/30/26; Senate Majority Leader: Republicans Overcome Democrats’ Obstruction and Confirm 48 of President Trump’s Nominees – 9/18/26)
  • Thanks to Senate Republicans’ nominations rules reform, the current backlog is far smaller than the previous two administrations’ at this point in time and stands to be nearly eliminated after passage of the fourth batch of en bloc nominations:

ClearingTheBacklogJune26_2

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THE SENATE’S LONG HISTORY OF CONFIRMING NONCONTROVERSIAL NOMINATIONS IN LARGE BATCHES, COUPLED WITH SENATE DEMOCRATS’ HISTORIC OBSTRUCTION, LED REPUBLICANS TO REFORM THE RULES

  • A united Republican conference voted in September 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)
  • “The rules change to allow the vote was based on a proposal offered by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Angus King (I-Maine) two years ago…” (The Hill: Senate Republicans tee up final vote on 48 Trump nominees after changing rules – 9/17/25)
  • Flashback: In 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)
  • 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)
  • Thanks to this politically-motivated 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 4/30/26; 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 4/30/26; U.S. Congress: President Bill Clinton Nominations 1993-1996 – accessed 4/30/26; U.S. Congress: President George W. Bush Nominations 2001-2004 – accessed 4/30/26; U.S. Congress: President Barack Obama Nominations 2009-2012 – accessed 4/30/26; U.S. Congress: President Donald Trump Nominations 2017-2020 – accessed 4/30/26; U.S. Congress: President Joe Biden Nominations 2021-2024 – accessed 4/30/26)

BECAUSE OF SENATE REPUBLICANS TAKING ACTION, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS HIS TEAM IN PLACE

  • Since Senate Republicans’ rules reform, the Senate has confirmed 252 civilian nominations in three batches. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 4/30/26)
  • After confirmation of Senate Republicans’ fourth batch, 60% of President Trump’s civilian nominations this Congress will have been confirmed in en bloc batches. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 4/30/26)
  • The Senate will have confirmed 44 U.S. attorneys this Congress, with 13 included in this batch. (U.S. Congress: S.Res.690 – accessed 4/30/26; Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 4/30/26)
  • The Senate has also confirmed 37 federal judges to district and circuit courts this Congress. (Senate Majority Leader: President Trump's Senate-Confirmed Civilian Nominations – accessed 4/30/26)
  • Republicans’ rule change does “not apply to [lifetime] judicial nominees, who would still be subject to the requisite… hours of floor consideration. Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees will still require 30 hours of consideration and are not eligible to be greenlighted in a bloc.” (The Hill: Senate GOP tees up ‘nuclear option’ to end Democratic nominee blockade – 9/8/25)