Republicans on Wednesday will begin a push to change Senate rules in a way that would allow the faster confirmation of President Trump's nominees, after months of complaints that Democrats are dragging out the process.

The Senate Rules Committee will meet in the afternoon to consider a resolution that would reduce post-cloture debate for most Executive Branch nominees from 30 hours to just 8 hours.

The goal is to prevent Democrats from stretching out debate over several days, just to see nominees confirmed at the end of the process, sometimes with Democratic votes.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who chairs the Rules Committee, said these delays not only deny Trump his Executive Branch team, but also gums up the Senate and "makes it impossible for us to do anything else."

Blunt said in most cases, the hours go by in the Senate with just a few minutes of debate on nominees.

"And that happens over and over again, except sometimes there's zero debate for nominees, particularly judges, that then get 71, 81, 98 votes," he said. "It's an unacceptable thing to let that continue to happen."

Less than two weeks ago, Senate GOP leaders made it clear they were getting interested in making the change.

"There is no reason to burn a lot of time on the floor for noncontroversial nominees just because you can," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. "And it's slowing down the process. There are a lot of important vacancies that exist."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Democrats have forced an " extraordinary level of obstruction" on even noncontroversial nominees.

But even if Blunt's committee approves the resolution, it's not clear it can pass the Senate. Republicans control just 51 votes, and they'll need 60 votes to advance it to a final vote on the floor.

That means it will need support from Democrats, and it's not clear Democrats are ready to help the GOP along with its plan to speed up the process of confirming Trump's picks.

Republicans are hopeful, however, because both parties agreed in 2013 to make the same change, and when that rule came up, it passed 78-16.

But it's not a sure thing, given how Democrats have reacted to some of Trump's nominees.

"[W]e will get it out of committee and see what happens once that return to a standing order, that would be a permanent standing order this time," Blunt said Tuesday. "But there's no reason that you should have been willing to do this in 2013 and not willing to do this in 2018."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., indicated Tuesday that Democrats won't be as willing to reduce debate time. He said one judicial nominee was blocked by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., for seven years.

"Now they're complaining that we want 30 hours when they nominate someone else?" he asked. "It smacks to me of a double standard."

One GOP aide said it wouldn't be a shock if Democrats change their minds now it the change will help a Republican president.

"Would be ironic since they all voted for it before," the aide said. "But Dems rarely surprise me anymore."