Senate Democrats Have Obstructed The Appointment Of President Trump's Nominees To A Historic Degree

President Trump's appointees to ambassadorships, administrative positions, the judiciary, and executive roles have been delayed to an historic degree by Senate Democrats.

387 of President Trump's nominees have received Senate confirmation, a number far lower than other presidents at this point in their terms.

To delay the confirmation process, Democrats have continuously invoked a rule requiring 30 hours of debate on many Trump appointees.

This Democratic blockade has caused nominees to wait an average 84 days for confirmation, a period 19 days longer than the average time an Obama nominee was confirmed.

Over sixty percent of President Trump's nominees for federal judgeships are still awaiting Senate confirmation.

Democrat obstruction has had deleterious impacts on the workings of key federal agencies, leading to inefficiencies, uncertainty, and even national security concerns.

The Senate has yet to act on the nominations of ambassadors to 25 "critical nations." Richard Grenell is a Harvard-educated diplomat and President Trump's nominee to be Ambassador to Germany. Although Grenell has twice been reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and received bipartisan praise, a single Democratic senator has held up his nomination.



CONFIRMATION OF TRUMP APPOINTEES HAS BEEN HELD UP BY SENATE DEMOCRATS' OBSTRUCTIONISM AND DILATORY TACTICS

President Trump's Appointments To All Levels Of Government Have Seen Their Nominations Stalled By Senate Democrats' Petty Partisan Tactics And Obstruction

President Trump's Nominees To Posts At All Levels Of Government Have Been Stalled In The Senate. "For months, scores of President Trump's nominees for posts from ambassadorships to deputies at cabinet-level agencies have been stalled, awaiting confirmation hearings." (Maggie Haberman, "Opposing Factions Join To Push Confirmation Of A Gay Trump Appointee," The New York Times , 3/25/18)

As Of March 29, 177 Of President Trump's Nominees Sent To The Senate Are Awaiting Senate Confirmation. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

As Of March 29, The Average Time Taken To Confirm President Trump's Nominees Was 84 Days. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

The Average Time Taken To Confirm President Obama's Nominees Was 65 Days. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18) The Average Time Taken To Confirm President George W. Bush's Nominees Was 43 Days. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18) The Average Time Taken To Confirm President Clinton's Nominees Was 50 Days. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18) The Average Time Taken To Confirm President George H.W. Bush's Nominees Was 53 Days. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

Under Senate Rules, 30 Hours Must Elapse On The Floor Every Time The Senate Votes To End Debate And Advance A Nominee Unless There Is A Unanimous Consent Request . "Under current rules, 30 hours must elapse on the floor every time the Senate votes to end dilatory debate and advance a nominee - unless there's unanimous consent to yield back floor time." (Alexander Bolton, "GOP Pushes To Change Senate Rules For Trump," The Hill , 3/22/18)

Senate Democrats Have "Often" Required "The Full 30 Hours Of Post-Cloture Debate" On Trump Nominees. "He noted that the Senate has had 79 cloture votes on nominees in the first 14 months of the Trump administration, about five times as many as the number during the same spans of the past four administrations combined. Often Democrats have required the full 30 hours of post-cloture debate time to elapse before allowing a final vote." (Alexander Bolton, "GOP Pushes To Change Senate Rules For Trump," The Hill , 3/22/18)

Seventy-Nine Cloture Votes Have Been Held On President Trump's Nominees Compared To Seventeen Cloture Votes That Took Place For Presidential Nominees Over The Previous Four Administrations Combined. "In the last four administrations combined, the Senate held 17 cloture votes of presidential nominees compared to the 79 cloture vote in the first 14 months of the Trump administration, Short noted." (Melanie Arter, "WH: 79 Cloture Votes Used Against Trump Nominees Compared to 17 in Past 4 Administrations Combined," Media Research Center , 3/16/18)

At This Point In Their Terms, The Four Previous Presidents Before President Trump Had More Of Their Nominees Confirmed

As Of March 29, Only 387 Of President Trump's Nominees Sent To The Senate Had Been Confirmed. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

President Obama Had 548 Of His Nominees Confirmed At The Same Point In His Term. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18) President George W. Bush Had 615 Of His Nominees Confirmed At The Same Point In His Term. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18) President Clinton Had 619 Of His Nominees Confirmed At The Same Point In His Term. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18) President George H.W. Bush Had 481 Of His Nominees Confirmed At The Same Point In His Term. ("Political Appointee Tracker," Partnership For Public Service , Accessed 4/2/18)

Over Sixty Percent Of President Trump's Judicial Nominees Are Still Awaiting Senate Confirmation

Since Taking Office, President Trump Has Nominated 84 Individuals To Serve On The U.S. District Courts And U.S. Courts Of Appeals. ("Judicial Selection," Alliance For Justice , Accessed 04/02/18)

As Of April 2, 52 Of President Trump's Nominees To The U.S. Courts Of Appeals And The U.S. District Courts Are Still Awaiting Senate Confirmation. ("Judicial Vacancies," United States Courts , Accessed 4/2/18)

Since Taking Office, President Trump Has Had 29 Judges Confirmed To The Federal Bench. "President Donald Trump has appointed 29 judges to the federal bench since his inauguration, including 14 appeals court judges and a Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch. While Trump has moved quickly to put his stamp on the federal judiciary, his judges have also faced a record amount of opposition, at least based on the average number of Senate votes cast against them." (John Gramlich, "Federal Judicial Picks Have Become More Contentious, And Trump's Are No Exception," Pew Research Center , 3/7/18)

Of The 29 Confirmed Judges, There Have Been A Total Of 654 "No" Votes Against These Appointees In The Senate, An Average Of 23 "No" Votes Each-- The Highest Average For Any President's Judges In Over 50 Years. "The 23 men and six women Trump has successfully appointed so far have faced a total of 654 'no' votes on the floor of the Senate, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Federal Judicial Center and the U.S. Senate. That works out to an average of nearly 23 votes against each confirmed judge - by far the highest average for any president's judges since the Senate expanded to its current 100 members in 1959." (John Gramlich, "Federal Judicial Picks Have Become More Contentious, And Trump's Are No Exception," Pew Research Center , 3/7/18)

President Obama's Judicial Nominees Faced An Average Of Six No Votes, President George W. Bush's Faced An Average Of Two No Votes, And President Clinton's Faced An Average Of Just Over One No Vote. "The 330 judges Barack Obama appointed during his eight years in office faced an average of six votes against them. George W. Bush's 328 confirmed judges faced an average of two, and Bill Clinton's 382 judges faced an average of just over one." (John Gramlich, "Federal Judicial Picks Have Become More Contentious, And Trump's Are No Exception," Pew Research Center , 3/7/18)

The Failure To Confirm Nominees For Several Key And Sensitive Roles Has Led To A State Of Limbo And Uncertainty

NASA And Other Executive Departments Who Are Without A Permanent Leader Are In "Limbo" As The Acting Administrators Are "Not Empowered To Make Big Changes." "The lack of a permanent leader has left NASA in a state of limbo. It's difficult for interim leaders to advocate for the agency on long-term matters, including the budget, simply because they don't expect to stick around for that long. 'Fundamentally, an acting administrator is not empowered to make big changes at NASA,' said Casey Dreier, the director of space policy at the Planetary Society in California. 'He's there just to keep the ship running steady.'" (Marina Koren, "One Year Later, NASA Still Doesn't Have A New Administrator," The Atlantic , 1/19/18)

NASA Has Been Without A Top Administrator For Over A Year. "This is the longest NASA has gone without a permanent chief-who is nominated by the president and must be confirmed by Congress-in the transition between two administrations. Since the inauguration last January, NASA has been run by an acting administrator." (Marina Koren, "One Year Later, NASA Still Doesn't Have A New Administrator," The Atlantic , 1/19/18)

"This Is The Longest NASA Has Gone Without A Permanent Chief" And The Situation Is Truly "Unprecedented." "This is the longest NASA has gone without a permanent chief-who is nominated by the president and must be confirmed by Congress-in the transition between two administrations. Since the inauguration last January, NASA has been run by an acting administrator. While the agency historically has been toward the bottom of the priority list for presidential appointees of a new administration, this kind of delay is unprecedented. Before this, the longest stretch between administrators came in 2009, when George W. Bush's chief stepped down in January and Barack Obama's appointee was sworn in in July, less than six months later." (Marina Koren, "One Year Later, NASA Still Doesn't Have A New Administrator," The Atlantic , 1/19/18)

"This is the longest NASA has gone without a permanent chief-who is nominated by the president and must be confirmed by Congress-in the transition between two administrations. Since the inauguration last January, NASA has been run by an acting administrator. While the agency historically has been toward the bottom of the priority list for presidential appointees of a new administration, this kind of delay is unprecedented. Before this, the longest stretch between administrators came in 2009, when George W. Bush's chief stepped down in January and Barack Obama's appointee was sworn in in July, less than six months later." (Marina Koren, "One Year Later, NASA Still Doesn't Have A New Administrator," The Atlantic , 1/19/18) James Bridenstine Was Nominated For The Top Administrative Position At NASA In September 2017. ("President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent To Nominate Personnel To Key Administration Posts," The White House , 9/2/17)

The Senate Has Yet To Act On President Trump's Nominee For Assistant Secretary For Immigration And Customs Enforcement Within The Department Of Homeland Security Since His Nomination In November 2017. ("Tracking How Many Key Positions Trump Has Filled So Far," The Washington Post , Accessed 3/28/18)

The Senate Has Yet To Confirm President Trump's Nominee For Deputy Undersecretary And Designated Assistant Secretary For International Finance At The Department Of The Treasury Since His Nomination In March 2017. ("Tracking How Many Key Positions Trump Has Filled So Far," The Washington Post , Accessed 3/28/18)

The Senate Has Yet To Confirm President Trump's Nominee For Deputy Secretary Of Labor Department Since His Nomination In June 2017. ("Tracking How Many Key Positions Trump Has Filled So Far," The Washington Post , Accessed 3/28/18)

Despite Having Bipartisan Support, Richard Grenell, President Trump's Nominee For U.S. Ambassador To Germany, Remains Mired In Senatorial Quagmire Along With Several Ambassadors To "Critical Nations"

The Senate Is Still Waiting To Confirm 25 Ambassadors To "Critical Nations." "Speaking on conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt's radio show, Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) said it is a 'significant problem' that the Senate has not confirmed ambassadors to 25 'critical nations,' including South Korea and South Africa." (Jonathan Easley, "Foreign Relations Dem: Senate Must Act On Trump's Ambassador Nominees," The Hill , 3/22/18)

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE): In Countries Where These U.S. Lacks An Ambassador "We Really Can't Have The Impact We Need To." "'When I've traveled to countries where we don't have an ambassador, it makes a real difference in terms of the level of our relationship and their ability to effectively represent us,' Coons said. 'The world of diplomacy is one that really follows sort of rank order, chain of command - and in the absence of an ambassador, some places in the world, we really can't have the impact we need to,' Coons said." (Jonathan Easley, "Foreign Relations Dem: Senate Must Act On Trump's Ambassador Nominees," The Hill , 3/22/18)

Richard Grenell Was Nominated To Be The Ambassador To Germany By President Trump In September 2017. "The State Department announced Richard Grenell's nomination to serve as the top diplomat in Germany in September. Since then, Grenell's nomination has passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee twice but not made it to the floor for a vote." (Joe Perticone, "Trump Is Fuming As A Key Ambassador Post Is Languishing In The Senate," Business Insider , 3/8/18)

Grenell, Who Would Be The First "Prominent Openly Gay Appointee" Of The Trump Administration, Is Still Awaiting Senate Confirmation. "But few drives for a confirmation vote have turned into a cause - supported by groups often on opposite sides of the political spectrum - like Richard Grenell's. Mr. Grenell, a Republican who worked with the incoming national security adviser, John R. Bolton, at the United Nations, was nominated by Mr. Trump last year for the ambassadorship to Germany, becoming the president's most prominent openly gay appointee." (Maggie Haberman, "Opposing Factions Join To Push Confirmation Of A Gay Trump Appointee," The New York Times , 3/25/18)

Since His Nomination, Grenell's Nomination Has Passed Through The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Twice. "The State Department announced Richard Grenell's nomination to serve as the top diplomat in Germany in September. Since then, Grenell's nomination has passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee twice but not made it to the floor for a vote." (Joe Perticone, "Trump Is Fuming As A Key Ambassador Post Is Languishing In The Senate," Business Insider , 3/8/18)

Grenell's Nomination Was Reported Out Of The Senate Foreign Relations Committee With Bipartisan Support. "'Mr. Grenell, a Harvard-educated experienced diplomat, was the longest-serving U.S. spokesperson at the United Nations. He was nominated in September of last year. He was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with bipartisan support. He is waiting to represent America's interest and be our country's top voice in a G-7 country,' Sanders said." ("Republicans Push To End Dems' Stranglehold On Key Ambassadorial Nominee," Fox News , 3/27/18)

Grenell's Nomination Is Currently "Trapped In Arcane Parliamentary Tactics." "But like other nominees, he is trapped in arcane parliamentary tactics. Democrats in the Senate have expressed concern about Mr. Grenell's sometimes caustic Twitter posts. But his nomination has attracted support from an unlikely coalition of conservative commentators and gay rights activists." (Maggie Haberman, "Opposing Factions Join To Push Confirmation Of A Gay Trump Appointee," The New York Times , 3/25/18)

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Has Declined To Grant A Unanimous Consent Request And Advance Grenell's Nomination. "Last week, when the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, called for Mr. Grenell to move ahead by unanimous consent, which requires a voice vote, Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, declined to advance the nomination." (Maggie Haberman, "Opposing Factions Join To Push Confirmation Of A Gay Trump Appointee," The New York Times , 3/25/18)

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Said By Blocking Grenell's Confirmation, Senate Democrats Are "Putting Our National Security In Jeopardy." "'As I noted before, blocking Ric Grenell from serving as Ambassador to Germany is putting our national security in jeopardy,' Sanders said." (Jonathan Easley, "Trump Fumes As Ambassador Nominees Languish In The Senate," The Hill , 3/7/18)

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) Stated That The Senate "Should Take A Vote On Him [Grenell] As Soon As Possible" Because We Need "To Get An Ambassador To Germany ASAP." "Murphy told Business Insider, 'I think we should take a vote on him as soon as possible,' and that he thinks 'we need to get an ambassador to Germany ASAP.'" (Joe Perticone, "Trump Is Fuming As A Key Ambassador Post Is Languishing In The Senate," Business Insider , 3/8/18)

Senator Coons Expressed Frustration That Grenell's Appointment Has "Dragged On Far Too Long" And Said He Would Push Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) To Vote On The Issue. "Coons also singled out Germany as a problem spot. Last September, Trump tapped former U.S. spokesman to the United Nations Richard Grenell to represent the U.S. there, but Grenell has still not had a confirmation vote. 'This one's dragged on far too long,' Coons said. The Delaware Democrat promised Hewitt, who is friends with Grenell, that he'd push Schumer to vote on the matter." (Jonathan Easley, "Foreign Relations Dem: Senate Must Act On Trump's Ambassador Nominees," The Hill , 3/22/18)

Coons Said "It's Long Overdue For Us To Have An Ambassador To Germany." "Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said 'it's long overdue for us to have an ambassador to Germany.'" (Joe Perticone, "Trump Is Fuming As A Key Ambassador Post Is Languishing In The Senate," Business Insider , 3/8/18)

Stuart Milk, Co-Founder Of The Harvey Milk Foundation, A Gay Rights Group, Called Those Opposing Grenell "Misguided." "Stuart Milk, who co-founded the Harvey Milk Foundation in honor of his uncle, a prominent gay civil rights pioneer in California who was gunned down decades ago, said he believed that Mr. Grenell's confirmation would 'send an important message' about the gay community's having a place in the Trump administration. 'I understand those who are frustrated with the Trump administration and the actions the Trump administration has taken' who have also opposed Mr. Grenell, Mr. Milk said. 'And I think that's misguided.'" (Maggie Haberman, "Opposing Factions Join To Push Confirmation Of A Gay Trump Appointee," The New York Times , 3/25/18)

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