The Senate has confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees at once, voting for the first time under new rules to begin clearing a backlog of executive branch positions that had been delayed by Democrats.
Frustrated by the stalling tactics, Senate Republicans moved last week to make it easier to confirm large groups of lower-level, non-judicial nominations. Democrats had forced multiple votes on almost every one of Trump’s picks, infuriating the president and tying up the Senate floor.
The new rules allow Senate Republicans to move multiple nominees with a simple majority vote — a process that would have previously been blocked with just one objection. The rules don’t apply to judicial nominations or high-level Cabinet posts.
“Republicans have fixed a broken process,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said ahead of the vote.
More...
More than a dozen elected officials were arrested Thursday while protesting conditions at a New York...
Two Democratic senators claim they have reached the “inescapable conclusion” that Israel is acting on a...
The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve an additional $58m for security services to protect...
