Republicans hit nuclear option to confirm 48 Trump nominees at once and crush Democrat blockade

Republicans in the U.S. Senate have confirmed 48 nominations from President Donald Trump that were being stalled by Democrats.

The motion to confirm the nominees passed in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 51 to 47.

‘We have tried to work with Democrats in good faith to batch bipartisan, noncontroversial nominees and clear them expeditiously, according to past precedent. Democrats have stood in the way at every turn.’

Republicans have been criticizing Democrats for slow-walking the nominations in order to slow down Trump’s political agenda.

“If the Senate had continued at the pace that we’ve been proceeding at through the month of July, there would still be hundreds of empty desks in the executive branch on President Trump’s last day in office in 2029,” said Republican Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota on Thursday.

Among those nominations are Kimberly Guilfoyle, to become the ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, to become the ambassador to Switzerland. Guilfoyle is a former Fox News personality, and Gingrich is the wife of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

A Republican aide told Blaze News that the motion was one that was originally proposed by Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Angus King of Maine in 2023. Without the rule change, the Senate would be forced to hold 600 roll-call votes rather than confirm them in one large batch.

“Republicans aren’t going to tolerate this obstruction any longer,” Thune said in an op-ed at Breitbart News. “We have tried to work with Democrats in good faith to batch bipartisan, noncontroversial nominees and clear them expeditiously, according to past precedent. Democrats have stood in the way at every turn.”

RELATED: John Thune to use Democrats’ own ‘nuclear option’ to defeat Senate confirmation blockade

Republicans issued praise for the decision.

“[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer and Dems have delayed every single Trump nominee and have even forced our committee to vote on a number of nominees for a second time. The political games end here,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho).

“Today, the Senate voted to confirm 48 of President Trump’s nominees. We aren’t going to stop until he has his entire team in place to serve the will of the American people,” said Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) previously criticized the move in a speech from the floor of Congress.

“One of the most important checks on executive power, given to the Senate in the Constitution, is the power of consent for nominees to high executive office. It prevents a president from installing in power unqualified or corrupt people,” he said.

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