The Senate confirmed four dozen of President Donald Trump’s nominees in a single vote on Thursday following Senate Republicans unilaterally changing the upper chamber’s rules last week.
Senators voted 51 to 47 along party lines to confirm 48 of the president’s picks who will serve in positions across the federal government and represent the U.S. abroad. Republican leaders have pledged to continue clearing the backlog of civilian nominees waiting for floor consideration in the coming weeks by voting on nominees in groups.
“Let me be clear. Democrats’ obstruction ends today,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on the upper chamber’s floor. “Over 100 more nominees will be ready for confirmation by the end of this week.”
Each of the 48 nominees passed out of committee with bipartisan support, allowing the bloc to secure simultaneous confirmation with the rules change. Many of the nominees who won confirmation will serve in lower-level positions in the Trump administration, including under or assistant secretary positions across the federal government.
The bloc also includes six of Trump’s ambassador nominees, including former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, who will serve as the U.S. ambassador to Greece, and former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich, who will now represent the United States in Switzerland.
Guilfoyle is the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, and the ex-wife of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Mrs. Gingrich is the wife of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
Republicans argued the rules change was necessary to break Democrats’ unprecedented obstruction of the confirmation process.
“For almost eight months now, Democrats have dragged out the confirmation of every one of President Trump’s nominees,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the Senate floor on Thursday. “By restoring Senate precedent on confirmations, we have helped ensure that the Senate is able to fulfill all of its responsibilities.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has justified stalling the confirmation process by arguing that “historically bad nominees deserved historic levels of scrutiny.”
Trump, in his second term, is the only president in roughly 100 years to not have a single nominee confirmed via voice vote or unanimous consent.
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