[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 129 (Monday, July 28, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Nominations

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I know that August is approaching, but we 
still have some serious work to do here in Washington. We need to make 
further progress on appropriations, and we have a number of President 
Trump's nominations to get through.
  Despite a historic level of obstruction from Democrats, Senate 
Republicans have been maintaining a brisk pace on confirming President 
Trump's nominees. We have confirmed 107 civilian nominees, nearly 
doubling the pace in President Trump's first administration at this 
point. And we have done it with good, old-fashioned hard work.
  Thanks in substantial part to our commitment to getting President 
Trump's team in place, the Senate has taken 437 votes so far this year, 
which is more than in any Congress at this point in the last 35-plus 
years.
  In fact, we have taken more votes in 2025 already, in less than 7 
months, than the Senate has taken in a full 12 months for 32 of the 
past 36 years.
  So we have kept up a very intense pace. But there are a number of 
nominees still waiting for confirmation, and we are going to get 
through a lot more of them soon.
  And so we can do this the easy way or the hard way, and that is 
really up to Senate Democrats.
  As I said, we have confirmed President Trump's civilian nominees at 
nearly double the pace of his first administration so far through a lot 
of hours spent here in the Senate, but we would have a lot more 
nominees confirmed at this point if Democrats hadn't decided to drag 
out every nomination.
  Democrats have not allowed a single civilian Trump nominee to pass by 
unanimous consent or voice vote, even when Democrats have ultimately 
ended up supporting the nomination in significant numbers. I refer to 
this as a historic level of obstruction, and I mean it.
  President Trump is the only President on record--the only President 
on record--to not have a single one of his civilian nominees confirmed 
by unanimous consent or voice vote at this point in his Presidency--the 
only President on record.
  Now, just to offer a point of comparison here, by this point in his 
Presidency, President Biden had 44 civilian nominees confirmed by voice 
vote. President Trump hasn't had 1--44 for Biden, 0 for President 
Trump. So when I say this is a historic level of obstruction from 
Democrats, I mean it. That is not a Republican talking point; it is 
just a fact.
  Democrats haven't offered a shred of courtesy to President Trump, to 
the voters who elected him, or to the people who have stepped up to 
serve our country in his administration.
  So the ball is in Democrats' court. They can continue to drag out the 
process on even the most uncontroversial nominees and we can spend a 
lot more hours with each other in the Senate Chamber or they can rein 
in their reflexive, anti-Trump sentiment and allow some of his rank-
and-file nominees to proceed by unanimous consent or voice vote, just 
as Republicans did when the roles were reversed.
  I would remind my colleagues about the dangerous and ugly precedent 
they are setting here, but the choice is theirs. But whether it is the 
slow way or the fast way, we are getting President Trump's nominees 
confirmed.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.