If there’s one thing that defines the U.S. Senate in recent years, it is its remarkable ability to do less with more time.
This summer, the stakes for inaction are far too high. At last count, 144 of President Trump’s nominees – ranging from critical judicial appointments to senior national security and economic posts – remain bottled up in the Senate. That includes dozens of ambassadorial nominees, many of them to strategically vital nations.
The reason? A relentless campaign of procedural obstruction by Senate Democrats, who are using every delay tactic in the book to slow-walk confirmations and frustrate the implementation of President Trump’s agenda.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has a decision to make. He can allow the Senate to pack up and leave town for the traditional August recess while the business of government grinds to a halt. Or he can do what is necessary and keep the Senate in session until these nominations are confirmed.
The right choice should be obvious.
It is now abundantly clear that Democrats, lacking the votes to stop legislation or overturn executive decisions, have settled on obstruction as their primary strategy. They can’t repeal tax reform. They can’t undo the President’s regulatory rollbacks. They can’t unilaterally halt the rebuilding of our military or stop the energy renaissance. But they can slow down the machinery of government by ensuring that key posts remain vacant and that vital decisions are stalled in limbo.
And they’ve done so with stunning cynicism. Since President Trump took office, Senate Democrats have forced time-consuming cloture votes on nominee after nominee – many of whom ultimately pass with broad bipartisan support. It’s not about qualifications or controversy. It’s about delay for delay’s sake.
This is not how the Senate was designed to operate. In times past, a president’s nominees – especially those who are clearly qualified and uncontroversial – would have been confirmed swiftly, often by voice vote or unanimous consent. But in today’s hyper-partisan climate, Democrats have transformed even the most mundane appointments into political flashpoints. The goal isn’t to scrutinize the nominees. The goal is to jam the gears.
Take the State Department. With 31 ambassadorships hanging in the balance, the United States is currently being represented in key capitals either by Joe Biden holdovers or, more likely, career Foreign Service Officers acting in their capacities as deputy chiefs of mission – exactly what Trump does not want. In a world increasingly shaped by shifting alliances, authoritarian threats, and economic uncertainty, having the president’s choices to represent him abroad in place and functioning is not a luxury – it’s a necessity. Every day these posts go unfilled is another day America risks losing ground to its adversaries.
Or consider the judicial branch. A central achievement of the Trump presidency has been the reshaping of the federal judiciary with jurists who respect the Constitution and interpret the law rather than legislate from the bench. But the project is now at risk of stalling as Democrats delay floor votes on well-qualified judicial nominees – again, not because of ideological opposition, but because of raw political gamesmanship.
The Republican majority owes the American people better. Leader Thune and his conference have the tools and the authority to override the obstruction. But that requires a willingness to fight. The Senate calendar is controlled by the majority, and the Senate cannot afford to take the month of August off while this backlog persists.
Cancel the recess.
Let the Democrats explain to the American people why they’d rather protect empty desks in Washington than let qualified public servants get to work. Let them explain why, when Americans need more security, more economic stability, and more accountability in government, their answer is “wait.”
And let Republicans demonstrate that they’re willing to do the hard work of governing – even when it means giving up the comforts of home in August.
Keeping the Senate in session would also send a message to the federal bureaucracy: the Trump administration is not going to be stymied by procedural gimmicks, whether in the bowels of the bureaucracy or in the cloakroom of the Senate. The President was elected with a mandate to shake up Washington, and that work cannot continue if his appointees are kept on the sidelines.
This is not a partisan issue – it’s a matter of basic governance. The President has a constitutional right to fill executive and judicial posts, and the Senate has a constitutional obligation to provide advice and consent. Deliberation is one thing. Obstruction is another.
Leader Thune should cancel the August recess. He should keep the Senate in Washington until the backlog of nominees is cleared. Democrats can stall all they want, but it’s time Republicans started fighting back with the one thing they control – time.
This summer, the American people don’t need another vacation from Washington. They need action. They need leadership. And they need a government that works.
Senate Republicans should get to it.
Jenny Beth Martin is Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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