Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., laid the groundwork for the Senate GOP to use the "nuclear option" to confirm the growing backlog of President Donald Trump's nominees. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
However, that pace has turned into an outright crawl during Trump’s second term. No nominee at any level has received a voice vote or moved through unanimous consent — two methods meant to fast-track the confirmation process for sub-cabinet level positions in the bureaucracy.
Thune quoted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who in 2022 railed against Republicans during a Senate floor speech for slowing some of former President Joe Biden's nominees, and said, "Regardless of the party in the White House, both sides have long agreed that a President deserves to have his or her administration in place, quickly."
Thune charged that the Democrats' blockade was "Trump derangement syndrome on steroids" and argued that if the nominees were as historically bad as they claimed, they would not have voted some of them out of committee on a bipartisan basis.
"We've got a crisis, and it's time to take steps to restore Senate precedent and codify in Senate rules what was once understood to be standard practice," he said.
"This afternoon I will be taking the necessary procedural steps to amend the rules," Thune continued. "It is an idea with a Democrat pedigree."
The plan, which takes its cue from a bill pushed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Angus King, I-Maine, and former Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., would allow for nominees to be voted on in groups, or "en bloc."
TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN READY TO 'ROLL OVER' DEMOCRATS WITH RULE CHANGE TO CONFIRM TRUMP NOMINEES
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., speaks to reporters during the weekly luncheons at Capitol Hill on June 24, 2025, in Washington. (Tasos Katopodis)
Four years later, then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., went nuclear to allow for Supreme Court nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority. And in 2019, McConnell reduced the debate time to two hours for civilian nominees.
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Republicans voiced hope that using a proposal from Democrats would sway some to support the change and argued that the move is meant to further streamline the process and prevent future blockades by either party.
"I really look at this like they're forcing us to do something," Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. "There's nothing nuclear about it, in my humble opinion. And again, this is their bill, and we'll see. It's great to watch them squirm as they try to figure out what to do with this."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/thune-lays-groundwork-nuclear-option-senate-fight-over-trump-nominees