“This rules update will clear the nominee backlog. It will allow us to scrutinize effectively and confirm qualified nominees efficiently… What changes is the pointless, partisan delays nominees face on the Senate Floor.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor about how Republicans will return the Senate to its long-standing practice of confirming sub-cabinet presidential nominees in groups to overcome Democrats’ unprecedented, partisan obstruction.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“The United States Senate has standards, customs, and long-established traditions. These include allowing the president to fill out the team he needs for the government to function. That tradition goes all the way back to George Washington. Exactly 235 years ago this week, the Senate used its ‘advice and consent’ powers for the first time. President Washington nominated Alexander Hamilton to be Secretary of Treasury. The Senate confirmed him immediately. The official Senate history says that, ‘Minutes later, perhaps even before the messenger returned to the president’s office, senators approved [Hamilton] unanimously.’ That was the standard for more than two centuries.
“Senate Democrats have trashed that tradition. Confirming even the most routine nominees is now a long, bitter fight. From Hamilton’s confirmation in 1789 to Schumer’s unprecedented, obstinate obstruction in 2025, the Senate has gone from speed to stalemate.
“Prior to Senator Schumer, routine nominees cleared the Senate quickly – by voice vote, by unanimous consent, and often in groups. More than half of every president’s nominees were confirmed that way until this year. Ninety percent or more of a president’s nominees were confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent from the days of George Washington all the way through the presidency of Barack Obama. During President Trump’s first term, Democrats cut it down to 65 percent. Now, during his second term, it’s zero. Not a single nominee has been confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent since President Trump took office almost eight months ago. President Trump is the first president in history not to have a single nominee confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent. That has never happened before in the history of the United States Senate.
“This is the Schumer Confirmation Shutdown. Senator Schumer and Senate Democrats are forcing the Senate to waste hundreds of legislative hours. They have filibustered each and every one of President Trump’s nominees. 109 sub-cabinet nominees have been confirmed this year. Democrats filibustered every single one of them. That requires two roll call votes and two hours in between to allow for debate. Of the 109 nominees, 81 had not a single word spoken about them from Democrats on the Senate Floor.
“These sub-cabinet nominees were delayed for no reason other than Trump Derangement Syndrome. Each one was confirmed by the United States Senate after the maximum time expired. What’s more, only seven sub-cabinet nominees received 10 minutes or more of debate. Is this advice and consent? No. Is that congressional oversight? No. Is that serious scrutiny? No. That’s obstruction on autopilot.
“No president has ever faced a total shutdown of nominees like President Trump is facing now. The result is a historic backlog. 149 qualified, ready-to-serve nominees are still waiting to be considered on the Senate Floor. They are stuck in Senate purgatory. We know these nominees are qualified. The FBI vetted them. The Office of Government Ethics reviewed them. The Senate committees approved them. Half earned bipartisan support in committees. Yet Democrats are stonewalling their consideration on the Senate Floor. And there are still over 800 positions needing to be filled.
“This week, Senate Republicans will restore the Senate to the way it is supposed to work. Nominees who have been successfully approved by Senate Committees will be considered and confirmed in groups instead of being voted on one by one. This is in keeping with the longstanding traditions of the United States Senate. The Republican plan is similar to one proposed by Senators Klobuchar and King a few years ago. At that time, 62 percent of Joe Biden’s nominees had been confirmed by voice vote.
“This updated process applies only to routine executive branch positions. Positions like deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries, deputy assistant secretaries, ambassadors, and hundreds more. These are positions that in the past never required roll call votes on the Senate Floor. America needs these men and women working – not stuck in a procedural traffic jam. The process for Cabinet-level and judicial nominees remains the same. They will continue to come to the Floor individually. These rule changes will get the Senate working again – doing the business of the American people.
“Eight months into his second term, only 12 percent of President Trump’s team is in place. Remember, modern presidents have over 1000 positions to be filled. At this pace, it would take over a thousand hours of Senate Floor time to fill them all. No Senate – Democrat or Republican – has ever operated this way. No President – Democrat or Republican – can govern effectively under the current abuse by the Democrats. The Schumer confirmation shutdown leaves critical jobs unfilled. It weakens the economy. It undermines our international diplomacy. It jeopardizes our safety. It disrespects the will of the voters.
“This rules update will clear the nominee backlog. It will allow us to scrutinize effectively and confirm qualified nominees efficiently. Committees will still hold hearings and question nominees. The FBI will still do background checks. The Office of Government Ethics will still review conflicts. That does not change. What changes is the pointless, partisan delays nominees face on the Senate Floor. This is about restoring the Senate’s constitutional responsibility. That responsibility is advice and consent – not stall and delay.
“President Trump was elected to get America back on track. He deserves to have his team in place and on the job – and so do the American people. Senate Republicans are committed to make the Senate work again, just as it has for every President until now.”
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