Senate Republicans Give Trump Another Big Win
In a single action, Senate Republicans confirmed more than 100 of President Donald Trump’s nominees, reducing the backlog of unfilled appointments.
The Senate GOP altered its regulations last month to let the majority of executive branch nominees to be approved collectively rather than individually, which led to the confirmations. Cabinet secretaries and judicial nominees are exempt from the change.
Since the rule change went into force, this move marks the biggest block of confirmations. Former Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who will represent the Bahamas, and former White House Presidential Personnel Office director Sergio Gor, who will represent India, were among those authorized.
Following months of Democratic resistance that had delayed the confirmation process to a standstill, Republicans invoked the so-called “nuclear option”—a party-line rules change—to expedite it.
For a brief period, some Republicans thought about permitting President Trump to nominate people during break, which would allow him to fill positions while the Senate was not in session. But in the end, GOP leaders turned down that notion, claiming it might backfire when their party is next in the minority.
As his administration continues to fill important positions throughout the federal government amid persistent partisan impasse, the mass confirmation represents a significant success for Trump.
Senate Republicans considered amending the chamber’s confirmation procedure in September because they were dealing with a backlog of judicial nominations brought on by minority Democrats’ stalling tactics.
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has come under fire from President Donald Trump for upholding the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, which gave home-state senators a chance to comment on nominees and, if the slips were removed, virtually prevented their confirmation.
To expedite confirmations, GOP members debated a number of suggestions prior to a meeting on Wednesday. The top choice, according to The Hill, was similar to a Democratic proposal that was put forth two years prior and would have allowed for a single vote on up to ten nominations. Other suggestions included eliminating the need for procedural votes, drastically cutting down on debate time, and making certain nominations nondebatable.
Republicans could have taken action without Democratic support because rule changes only needed a simple majority. However, such a move—referred to as a “nuclear option”—would have shown how politicized the conflict is. According to the article, a GOP working group was assigned to figure out the specifics.
The group’s chairman, Alabama GOP Sen. Katie Britt, stated, “Everyone had been talking through various options.” “One of the things that that process did was empower the committee process.”
Britt stated that she had been working with Democrats to create a rule modification that would be appropriate. The group spent a portion of the August break figuring out how to proceed with the remaining nominees.
As Senate Democrats continued to impede the confirmation process, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) declared early last month that he would keep the chamber in session for a weekend in order to advance some of Trump’s outstanding nominations ahead of the planned summer recesses.
On the 4th, the Senate was supposed to start its customary August recess, but Democrats’ demands for roll call votes on even the most routine candidates cast doubt on that plan.
According to Just The News, Trump warned that his nominees shouldn’t be “forced to wait” any longer and pushed senators to postpone their break.
One of the more well-known candidates on the calendar, Jeanine Pirro, Trump’s choice to be the top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., was confirmed by the Senate. Among the more than 150 awaiting confirmations was the former Fox News anchor, judge, and prosecutor from New York.
Negotiations to forward a larger slate of nominations broke down just hours before the Senate left town, and Pirro was approved.
Only seven of Trump’s selections were confirmed by lawmakers before they left for the rest of August.
After negotiations between Senate Republicans, the White House, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer broke down, a compromise that would have permitted hundreds more nominations fell down.
Trump Warns Iran of ‘Total Obliteration’ if They Try To Harm Him HH
President Donald Trump warned Iran that continued assassination threats made by leaders in Tehran would be met with the country getting “blown up” and “total obliteration.”
“Well, they shouldn’t be doing it but I’ve left notification,” Trump said. “Anything ever happens, we’re going to blow the whole — the whole country’s going to get blown up.”
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Biden-era Intelligence officials briefed Trump about the alleged threats against him during his presidential campaign in 2024. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said the plot was retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani by the U.S. in 2020, during Trump’s first administration.
Despite being briefed by his administration, Trump on Tuesday said President Biden “should have said something” on the matter, adding that presidents should defend each other on such matters.
“But I have very firm instructions,” Trump continued. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
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Trump also spoke about the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva.
“What are you expecting from these Iran talks in Geneva?” a reporter asked Trump aboard Air Force One.
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“So, I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they’ll be very important. We’ll see what can happen. Typically, Iran’s a very tough negotiator; they’re good negotiators — or bad negotiators. I would say they’re bad negotiators because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B2s to knock out their nuclear potential. We had to send the B2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal,” Trump said.
“Have you been told that a deal is next to impossible?” the reporter followed up.
Trump replied, “No. I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”
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Trump previously said that he instructed officials to destroy Iran if they killed him.
The president said this after signing an executive order right after taking office that gave him all the tools he needed to talk to Iran’s government and put as much pressure on Tehran as possible.
“They haven’t done that and that would be a terrible thing for them to do,” Trump said at the time. “Not because of me — if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left. And, they shouldn’t be able to do it.”
Trump warned last week that the United States could send additional warships toward Iran if ongoing diplomatic negotiations fail to produce a deal, signaling that military pressure could increase as talks over Tehran’s nuclear program stall.
In remarks to Axios, Trump said the administration is considering deploying a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln and 9 additional warships already positioned near Iran, though he expressed hope that a diplomatic agreement can still be reached.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” the president told Axios on Tuesday, a reference to the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites in June.
“Last time they didn’t believe I would do it. They overplayed their hand,” Trump added. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”
The president emphasized that the United States is seeking to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, halt the development of its ballistic missile program, and end support for militant proxy groups. Iranian officials have so far resisted expanding negotiations beyond nuclear-related issues.
He described the nuclear issue as a “matter of course” part of any negotiation, but also insisted that an agreement with Iran must also address Tehran’s ballistic missile stockpiles, per Axios.
Trump said the US “can make a great deal with Iran,” and Tehran “very much wants to make a deal.”
Trump’s comments came ahead of a planned visit to Washington, D.C. by Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to press for a tougher U.S. stance and broader terms for any Iran deal that would include constraints on Tehran’s missile capabilities and regional activities.
Before heading to DC, the Israeli leader previewed some of what he and Trump were going to discuss.
“I will present to the president our understanding of the principles of the negotiations (with Iran) – the essential principles that are important not only to Israel – but to everyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu told reporters, per the New York Post.
The administration has already bolstered its military presence in the Middle East, with multiple warships and aircraft deployed as a means of deterrence and leverage.
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