by Steve Milloy, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow and Junkscience.com Founder
As appearing in the Daily Caller
Our debt-ridden, woke-poisoned and polarized country is in deep trouble. President Trump is trying to fix as much as he can administratively. But after an impressive start, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is losing traction in the swamp.
Nearly 1,200 senior administration appointees require Senate confirmation. But under Sen. Thune’s leadership, the Senate has only confirmed 135. Thune has let Minority Leader Chuck Schumer block the process.
As Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) explained last week in the Wall Street Journal: “The Senate confirmed 98% of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton’s nominees expeditiously, meaning by voice vote or unanimous consent. The alternative—a roll-call vote—is much slower and in the past has been reserved for nominees who are controversial or in critical positions. For George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the Senate confirmed 90% by voice vote or unanimous consent. During Mr. Trump’s first term, it was 65% of nominees. Under Joe Biden, it was 57%. During Mr. Trump’s second term, it’s zero.”
That is utterly unacceptable. We are more than one-eighth through President Trump’s last final term, more than one-quarter of the way through this Congress and only months away from the 2026 mid-term season. Americans voted for the MAGA agenda in 2024. The President needs his nominees in place. And Majority Leader Thune is letting Minority Leader Schumer dictate the pace of confirmations.
What’s to be done? Here are a couple ideas.
