Trump Surpasses Predecessor in Confirmations
President Donald Trump is moving ahead of his predecessor regarding confirmations. Senate Republicans are likely to approve a group of 97 of Trump’s nominees, marking an earlier achievement compared to the confirmations at this same juncture during both the Biden and Trump administrations. Once this nomination package is passed later this week, the total confirmations for Trump’s second term will reach at least 417.
“By the end of this year, a record number of the nominees have been cleared by the executive branch,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune mentioned to Fox News on Thursday.
In contrast, former President Joe Biden had confirmed 365 candidates by the end of December 2021, while Trump had secured 323 confirmations at the end of his first term in 2017.
The nominees expected for confirmation include former New York Republican Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, who is set to take a leadership role at the Department of Labor. Additionally, there are two candidates for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), James Murphy and Scott Mayer, among 94 others across various federal positions.
The anticipated approval for the NLRB comes after Trump removed Biden nominee Gwynne Wilcox from the influential board in January, a decision that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals deemed legal.
Senate Republicans are also expected to approve Jared Isaacman, a known ally of Elon Musk, for the head position at NASA, alongside Douglas Weaver for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission later this week.
Thune took steps in September to alter Senate traditions, allowing for the confirmation of an unlimited number of non-cabinet and non-judicial nominees simultaneously—this was in response to months of what he called unprecedented obstruction from Democrats regarding Trump’s nominees. Notably, Trump is the first president in close to a century whose civilian nominees were not pre-approved by unanimous consent or voice vote, largely due to delays by Democrats.
This year, Senate Republicans passed a 48-member nomination package in September and confirmed 108 nominees in a single vote in October, following the invocation of the “nuclear option” to speed the process. Additionally, they confirmed 26 federal judges to serve on district and circuit courts.
More than 30 of Trump’s U.S. attorney nominees are also likely to gain confirmation before the holiday season.
Trump has persistently urged Senate Republicans to end the “Blue slip” courtesy, a long-standing practice giving senators veto power over U.S. attorney nominees from their states. Democrats have refrained from returning blue slips for positions in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.
Supporters of this practice, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Guthrie, argue it protects Republicans when a Democrat occupies the White House.
Grassley has stated that his focus is on securing the votes needed to advance from Trump’s Judiciary Committee, where Republicans maintain a 12-10 majority. Some Republicans have indicated they would oppose U.S. attorneys without the backing of local senators, even if Grassley abolishes this tradition.
