The Senate moved quickly to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and several key sub-Cabinet positions, including the FBI director and the director of national intelligence. But now, it appears ready to coast through the spring while critical posts remain unfilled. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) could solve the problem in a week — but only if he’s willing to put in long days and late nights.
This isn’t ceremonial work. These vacancies include essential positions, such as ambassador to the United Kingdom — just as the U.S. enters high-stakes trade negotiations with a key ally. The list also includes the undersecretary of defense and the head of the National Counterterrorism Center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
It shouldn’t be fantasy to expect a Republican-controlled Senate to work a full week — just once — to help the president build his team.
It doesn’t stop there. The comptroller of the currency at the Department of the Treasury — a post responsible for monitoring the health of U.S. and global banks — remains vacant. So does the director of the Office of Personnel Management, who oversees hiring across the executive branch, including the White House.
Roughly 30 nominees have cleared their Senate committees and now sit idle on the executive calendar, waiting for a vote. One of the most recent is Brian Burch, tapped to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. While the Vatican may not be the most strategic post on the geopolitical chessboard, the United States would be wise to have a representative in place when 1.4 billion Catholics prepare to select their next pope.
The president can’t carry out the most ambitious conservative agenda in a generation without a fully staffed administration. Waiting until August —
as the Senate reportedly plans — is unacceptable.
Here’s the reality.
The Senate’s constitutional role of advice and consent operates on two separate calendars: a legislative calendar and an executive calendar. Right now, the Senate is on the legislative calendar while it handles the budget and other bills. It can’t switch back and forth between calendars at will — unless it has unanimous consent, which it doesn’t. These days, switching to the executive calendar reliably burns 30 hours.
That’s why Thune must act with precision. On a Thursday, before senators flee town for the weekend, he should bring up every nomination on the executive calendar. He should then file cloture on each one individually. That would tee them up for debate starting Monday.
It’s not complicated. It just takes leadership and a willingness to work.
Thune needs to level with his members: We’re staying until the job’s done. This will take time. Senators typically stroll into Washington late Monday and skip town by mid-Thursday — meaning the average Senate “workweek” barely stretches past two days. That needs to end now. Weekend plans can wait.
Most of these pending nominations aren’t Cabinet-level or sub-Cabinet-level posts, so the minority’s power to stall is limited. Democrats can only hold up each vote for two hours. The Senate could start early, stay late, work overnight — whatever it takes. Even if Democrats drag their feet on every single nominee, the whole batch could be confirmed in roughly 70 hours.
Will they dig in for the full two hours on all 30 nominees? Maybe. But more likely, they’ll cave after a few long days. Democrats have lives, families, and fundraisers too.
If Republicans want to shorten the slog, they need to make the Democrats talk. That means showing up and holding the floor. Last year, Thune faced this same problem when he tried to advance the nomination of the Joint Chiefs chairman. Nine members of the majority leader’s own party skipped the 1 a.m. Friday vote! Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), for example, a rock-solid conservative but also no great friend of military brass, had tickets to the Masters Tournament.
I get it: That’s a cool thing for sure, but the weekend tournament is over, so no more excuses.
The dirty secret? Senators hate being on the floor. Despite the job description, they get fidgety, hungry, and thirsty — for more than just water.
So make it fun.
When I need a newsroom full of reporters to put in a 16-hour day — or just stay late — I use a trick that works every time: pizza and beer. It works across generations. Stock a conference room with food. Load the Republican Cloakroom with booze. Come on, folks — this is work, and
it can be fun.
They might even enjoy it. Until they don’t.
Eventually, some senior (or just tired) Democrats will tell their colleagues to knock off the stalling tactics so everyone can go home. This doesn’t need to drag into Saturday. But Thune needs to make it clear: If that’s what it takes, he’ll go that far — and his conference will back him up.
Remember, we live in a post-nuclear Senate. Thanks to the late former Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), confirmations now require only 51 votes. No filibuster, no excuses.
Of course, Democrats could make this easier. If they agree to stop delaying the inevitable, Republicans can hang out in their offices all they want and still finish the job.
None of this is easy. But it shouldn’t be fantasy to expect a Republican-controlled Senate to work a full week —
just once — to help the president build his team.
It’ll take cajoling. It’ll take Grubhub. It’ll take more than a few cases of beer and wine. But it’s doable — and well worth it.
Sign up for Bedford’s newsletter
Sign up to get Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford’s newsletter.
Politics
