Schumer: Historically Bad Nominees Deserve A Historic Level Of Scrutiny By Senate Democrats
New York, N.Y.: Leader Schumer responds to the Op-Ed written by Senator John Barasso (R-WY). The full text of the Op-Ed can be seen here, as well as below:
Leader Schumer: “Historically bad nominees deserve a historic level of scrutiny by Senate Democrats.”
Chuck Schumer’s Unprecedented Blockade
August 26, 2025
By John Barasso
He is slow-rolling confirmations at a rate never before seen.
President Trump has more than 1,000 senior-level appointments that require Senate confirmation. Under a radical Democratic resistance strategy, the Senate has so far confirmed only 135. Confirming even the most routine nominees is now a bitter fight. It is time to change Senate confirmation rules.
Through dilatory warfare, Democrats have broken their “advice and consent” responsibilities. This drastic a slow-roll has never happened under a modern president.
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.
The blockade’s scale is staggering. Democrats have forced multiple roll-call votes on more than 40 nominees for posts never subject to a single one. These confirmations used to take seconds. Now, each can take days.
Today, 145 qualified nominees already approved by committees await full Senate approval. Nearly half these nominees earned bipartisan support in committee, and many have been waiting for months. Yet all are trapped in Senate procedural purgatory.
The consequences of the latest shutdown are significant. Critical jobs remain unfilled, including the undersecretary for nuclear security at the Energy Department, ambassadors to key North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for intellectual property, and the Central Intelligence Agency’s inspector general. Positions that carry out constitutional duties as well as those tied to U.S. economic and diplomatic priorities are vacant.
This month Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried holding for ransom the confirmation of dozens of bipartisan nominees by demanding in exchange billions of dollars for unrelated spending. The president rightly rejected his ploy. This political theater wastes time and weakens the country.
The obstruction effort is driving the Democratic Party further into an electoral ditch. Recent polls show the party’s popularity is sinking. Voter registration is tumbling with it. Opposition to all things Trump won’t usher a return to political relevancy.
Senate Republicans are determined to confirm Mr. Trump’s qualified nominees one way or another. Republicans are considering changes to the Senate rules to end the most egregious delay tactics. Recess appointments are also an option for the president to fill vacancies. But that’s only a temporary fix. It doesn’t fully break the Democratic blockade.
For decades, noncontroversial nominees moved through the Senate in a timely manner. Democrats destroyed this tradition by treating every Trump nominee as controversial.
The American people elected President Trump and Republicans with a directive to get the U.S. back on track. They didn’t vote for Democratic delay and obstruction.
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