It must be great to be a member of The World’s Most Obstructionist Greatest Deliberative Body™. I mean, what, exactly, does a senator do besides cast an occasional vote and let loose with an occasional harrumph?
On the other hand, this is a club that has dimwits like Mazie Hirono, chardonnay socialists like Bernie Sanders, and sleazy scheming Trump-hating careerist RINOs like Lisa Murkowski as members, so how good can it actually be?
During the past week or so, President Donald Trump has addressed our homelessness and street crime crises; convinced leading medical institutions to stop sexually mutilating our children; brokered a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand; hammered out a pair of spectacular America First trade deals with Japan and the European Union; strengthened our nation’s copper industry; cracked down on would-be tariff cheaters and fentanyl pushers; brought racially discriminating, sex-denying, Jew-hating Brown University to its knees; took on Big Pharma to stop gouging the American people on prescription drug prices; and reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children.
Oh, and he sent yet another list of his executive branch nominees to the Senate for confirmation — including nominees for U.S. attorney, assistant secretary of defense, assistant attorney general, and assistant secretary of transportation. And he followed that up with his nominee for general services administrator.
And the Senate? The Senate has pretty much done … [checks notes] … bupkis.
This is especially true when it comes to Trump’s nominees, some 160 of whom are currently languishing, twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the Republican-controlled Senate to take up and confirm their nominations so they can roll up their sleeves and get to work for the American people.
Trump, though, has finally had enough. Yesterday, he demanded that Senate Republicans stay in session instead of heading back home on their traditional monthlong (must be nice!) August recess in order to confirm his nominees. Indeed, yesterday he blasted out the following post on Truth Social:
The Senate must stay in Session, taking no recess, until the entire Executive Calendar is CLEAR!!! We have to save our Country from the Lunatic Left. Republicans, for the health and safety of the USA, DO YOUR JOB, and confirm All Nominees. They should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Indeed, thank you, senators, for your attention to this matter, which is, after all, the Trump agenda.
John Thune: looking at you. Thune, after all, is the Senate majority leader, so it’s on him to herd his Senate cats. As the Washington Examiner reports: “The GOP leader is presently working on a plan to change the Senate rules to expedite the confirmation of hundreds of nominees, but such a plan would require bipartisan support. Republicans would need 67 votes, meaning at least 14 Democrats would have to support the rule change if all Republicans voted in favor.”
In other words, there’s zero chance the measure will pass.
Or is there? “Obviously, I’ve been supportive of changing rules in the past,” said Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy. “That probably benefits Democrats, you know, more than it benefits Republicans in the long run.” And when asked about a rules change, even Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said his Democrats want to work in a “bipartisan manner.” Yeah, right.
So what’s Plan B? Recess appointments, perhaps. It’s not ideal, but it would allow Trump to fill some of these crucial open positions with temporary appointments while the Senate is on recess.
“Fixing the rules,” said Thune, “not just for now, but for the long term, would be a better solution for it. But at this point right now, I wouldn’t say we’re taking any options off the table.”
Clearly, this is no way to run a country. Yes, the Constitution says the Senate shall give the president its “advice and consent” on his nominations, but it doesn’t say the Senate shall sit on its hands for six months between the former and the latter. A president of either party, having won the vote and thus earned the mandate of the American people, shouldn’t be waiting for half a year to fill out his team due to a gang of urgency-challenged deliberators.
Do your job, Senate Republicans. And, if you must, make it painful for those obstructionist, dead-end Democrats.
