President Donald Trump accused Chuck Schumer of "extortion" for holding up nominee appointments. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Lawmakers left Washington on Monday without a deal, leaving Republicans deeply frustrated with Schumer and Senate Democrats for their unprecedented filibustering of every one of Trump's nominees. Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio received a smooth confirmation.
Schumer and the Democrats had demanded that Trump free up billions in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and foreign aid, accounting for Trump's claims of a $2 billion "extortion."
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Republicans are now discussing a rule change that would block Democrats from filibustering the nominees, allowing them to clear the Senate with just a simple majority.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated his support for changing Senate rules to approve Trump's nominees. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
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"I think they're desperately in need of change," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Tuesday. "I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that."
Fox News' Alex Miller contributed to this report
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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