02.06.25

The Senate’s Cabinet Confirmation Pace is Currently More Than Double That of the Last Two Administrations

Senate Republicans Aren’t Letting Democrat Delays Get in the Way of Confirming President Trump’s Cabinet

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SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE FULL STEAM AHEAD DESPITE DEMOCRAT OBSTRUCTION: “TRUMP IS WINNING ON THE SENATE FLOOR.”

  • “[W]ith Trump’s Cabinet confirmations being the central pressure point at the moment, the Senate is where the action is. And many on the left want the party to pull out every procedural tool they have to stand in the way.” (Politico: ‘Blow this place up’: Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder – 2/5/25)
  • “Republicans have ground through procedural obstacles to confirm” President Trump’s Cabinet nominees at “a pace that alarms a broad swath of Democrats.” (Politico: ‘Blow this place up’: Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder – 2/5/25)
  • “Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, urged Democratic senators on Tuesday to join him in voting against all of President Trump’s nominees…” (The New York Times: Schumer Urged Democrats to Oppose Trump Nominees in Protest of His Policies – 2/5/25)
  • “But progressive activists have urged Democrats to get tougher,” including House Democrats who “have little patience for any pretense of normality in the Senate, preferring that senators do more to obstruct Trump’s nominees — joining, for instance, Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), who publicly announced her blanket opposition to his Cabinet picks.” (The New York Times: Schumer Urged Democrats to Oppose Trump Nominees in Protest of His Policies – 2/5/25; Politico: ‘Blow this place up’: Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder – 2/5/25)
  • Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) “urged Democrats to ‘blow this place up.’” (Politico: ‘Blow this place up’: Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder – 2/5/25)
  • Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for Senate Democrats “to make things hotter,” and acknowledged that “there are people who are angry at Democrats.” (Politico: ‘Blow this place up’: Frustrated Democrats want the Senate to fight harder – 2/5/25)
  • But the left is losing: “Trump is winning on the Senate floor.” (Punchbowl News: The options to jumpstart the Trump agenda – 2/5/25)
  • CNN’s Harry Enten: “But the bottom line is, Trump’s picks have been doing better than the average in terms of getting through the United States Senate. Simply put in a word, he’s winning.” (CNN: CNN News Central – 2/4/25)

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THE SENATE HAS CONFIRMED MORE THAN DOUBLE THE CABINET NOMINEES IN 2025 THAN AT THIS POINT IN 2017 AND 2021

  • “Despite Democrats' attempts to slow down the process to approve President Donald Trump's picks for various administration positions, the Republican-led Senate is confirming nominees at a record pace.” (Fox News: GOP-led Senate confirming president's nominees at faster pace than Biden admin, first Trump term – 2/5/25)
  • “[T]he Senate will have approved 13 of Trump’s nominees during the first three weeks of Trump’s new term. This outpaces the first three weeks of Trump’s first term and former President Joe Biden.” (Punchbowl News: The options to jumpstart the Trump agenda – 2/5/25)
    • Marco Rubio was confirmed as secretary of state 99-0. (PN11-13: Roll Call Vote #8 – 1/20/25)
    • John Ratcliffe was confirmed as CIA director 74-25. (PN11-19: Roll Call Vote #13 – 1/23/25)
    • Pete Hegseth was confirmed as secretary of defense 51-50. (PN11-7: Roll Call Vote #15 – 1/24/25)
    • Kristi Noem was confirmed as secretary of homeland security 59-34. (PN11-11: Roll Call Vote #17 – 1/25/25)
    • Scott Bessent was confirmed as secretary of treasury 68-29. (PN11-1: Roll Call Vote #19 – 1/27/25)
    • Sean Duffy was confirmed as secretary of transportation 77-22. (PN11-6: Roll Call Vote #21 – 1/28/25)
    • Lee Zeldin was confirmed as EPA administrator 56-42. (PN11-23: Roll Call Vote #24 – 1/29/25)
    • Doug Burgum was confirmed as secretary of interior 79-18. (PN11-3: Roll Call Vote #26 – 1/30/25)
    • Chris Wright was confirmed as secretary of energy 59-38. (PN11-15: Roll Call Vote #30 – 2/3/25)
    • Doug Collins was confirmed as secretary of veterans affairs 77-23. (PN11-5: Roll Call Vote #32 – 2/4/25)
    • Pam Bondi was confirmed as attorney general 54-46. (PN11-2: Roll Call Vote #33 – 2/4/25)
    • Scott Turner was confirmed as secretary of housing and urban development 55-44. (PN11-14: Roll Call Vote #35 – 2/5/25)
    • Russell Vought was confirmed as director of the Office of Management and Budget 53-47. (Senate Republican Cloakroom: Tweet – 2/6/25)

SENATE REPUBLICANS’ MESSAGE IS CLEAR: WE WILL NOT LET DEMOCRATS STALL PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CABINET CONFIRMATIONS

  • “In most cases we’ve been able to grind the Democrats’ resistance down and we’re going to continue grinding until the president’s cabinet is in place…” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)
  • “[Senate Republicans are] delivering results. Despite Democrat obstruction, we're confirming @POTUS' nominees at a strong pace—faster than in the Biden admin or first Trump admin. I’ll keep fighting to confirm President Trump’s team.” – Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.)
  • “[T]he Senate is wasting no time confirming President Trump's nominees. We're ahead of schedule and not slowing down.” – Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
  • “Great progress, and we are FAR ahead of 2017 Trump and 2021 Biden pace, but we've got more work to do. Like @LeaderJohnThune said, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Trump is getting his team.” – Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.)
  • “Senate Republicans are securing President Trump’s cabinet MUCH faster than the last two administrations. We won’t stop until all his nominees are confirmed!” – Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)
  • “We’re going to continue overcoming Democrat obstruction and continue confirming President Trump’s nominees as quickly as possible.” – Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.)