Senate to Leave for August Recess Without Deal for More Nominees

Senators plan to leave for August recess with a lengthy backlog of President Donald Trump’s nominees still waiting for floor consideration after talks of a deal fell apart.

Republicans held the Senate in session into the weekend with hopes of negotiating with Democrats to confirm a package of Trump’s nominees. But after spending all day Saturday slogging through roll call votes without an agreement for a deal, Republicans said they will return after recess to consider a change to the rules.

“There were several different times where I think either or both sides maybe thought there was a deal,” Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Saturday. “But in the end, you’ve got to be able to close it out, and we never got there.”

The Senate is taking a series of roll call votes on a handful of Trump’s nominees to finish confirming ambassadors and less-controversial picks that had already been queued up.

The move means the Senate didn’t heed Trump’s initial request for them to stay all month and clear the entire backlog of his nominees waiting for floor consideration. Trump posted on Saturday that Republicans should reject Democrats’ offers, “go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are.”

Democrats have for months blocked civilian nominees from being confirmed through expedited procedures, like voice vote and unanimous consent, as they’ve faced pressure from their base to push back against the administration.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Saturday doubled down on their strategy, saying that “historically bad nominees deserve historic levels of scrutiny.” Senate Republicans spent Saturday on the floor bashing Democrats for what they see as unprecedented levels of obstruction.

The nominee logjam led to conversations throughout the week that continued over the weekend about the potential to change the way the process works — an idea that has garnered bipartisan support in the past.

The ideas that have been floated include voting on multiple nominees at the same time by grouping them together and reducing the amount of debate time. Thune said a rules change is something senators could consider when they come back from recess.

“It’s got to be fixed,” Thune said. “This is not a sustainable position.”