It's the largest block of confirmations yet, with 107 Trump nominees set to fill their roles despite being blocked for several months by Senate Democrats. The confirmations mark a sudden but welcome change in the long term standoff that whittled down the remaining pending nominees on the Senate’s calendar to double digits.
Democrats have made clear from day one of Donald Trump's second term that they intend to impede or sabotage every single policy initiative and every single cabinet nomination no matter how reasonable.
“Before Senate Democrats shut down the federal government, they shut down the Senate floor – freezing the confirmation process. For months, their blockade created a growing backlog of qualified, bipartisan nominees. Tonight, Senate Republicans confirmed 107 of those qualified nominees and ended the Democrats’ confirmation blockade,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement.
The confirmations were secured while the upper chamber was deadlocked in the midst of a government shutdown, during which floor votes have largely been dedicated to trying to reopen the government.
The vote marked the second time that Senate Republicans have used a new rule change surrounding confirmations since restructuring Senate rules last month. Some in the mainstream media called the move "going nuclear".
