President Trump knocked Senate and House Democrats for “resisting the will” of the American people by slow-walking the confirmation process for the president’s nominees and blocking border security measures.

“Senate Democrats call it ‘the resistance’ — they’re resisting the will of the American voter and it is not good,” the president said in his weekly address, posted Saturday.



Trump said Democrats in the upper chamber have “shamelessly obstructed, stalled, and filibustered” the confirmations of his nominees from his first day in office. The president’s nominees, he said, “face a longer average confirmation wait than any” in the country’s history.

Trump cited the example of Isabel Patelunas, who was tapped in June 2017 to serve as assistant secretary of the treasury for intelligence and analysis and has yet to be confirmed.

“She’s given up so much,” he said. “She’s left areas. She’s moved from homes, and she’s still not confirmed. It’s a disgrace.”

The president went on to condemn congressional Democrats for “blocking urgently needed improvements” to border security.

Trump attributed these efforts to the fact that Democrats “don’t care about it” and “are afraid it’s going to make me and the Republicans look good.”

“These actions are endangering our citizens, threatening our communities, and undermining our national security,” Trump said.

The president’s criticisms of Senate Democrats for slowing the pace of confirmations come as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is expected to announce Monday whether the schedule for the upcoming August recess will be changed.

Shortening the five-week recess would allow the Senate additional time to focus on spending and confirm more of Trump’s nominees.

A group of 16 Senate Republicans urged McConnell in a letter last month to cancel the August recess.

