It’s Pay Back Time: Senate Democrats Will Delay And Obstruct Trump Nominees

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:38 pm

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In the spirit of what comes around goes around, Senate Democrats are planning on using delay tactics that will chew up most of Trump’s first hundred days in office to hold up the cabinet nominees.

Politico reported:
Senate Democrats are preparing to put Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks through a grinding confirmation process, weighing delay tactics that could eat up weeks of the Senate calendar and hamper his first 100 days in office. Multiple Democratic senators told POLITICO in interviews last week that after watching Republicans sit on Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court for nearly a year, they’re in no mood to fast-track Trump’s selections.

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Incoming Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she highly doubts Sessions will be confirmed on Inauguration Day. She, like other Democrats interviewed for this story, said that Republicans’ treatment of Garland is impossible to forget. “Past is present, and what goes around comes around. Now, those are pretty hackneyed sayings, but those are really true around here,” Feinstein said in an interview.

Not all Senate Democrats are on board with the strategy, but those who are have serious potential to create havoc with the Senate’s schedule. If Democrats force 30 hours of debate and numerous procedural votes for controversial nominations, they will eat up weeks worth of time, because the Republican-controlled Congress works a very light schedule.

There are legitimate questions that Trump’s controversial and unqualified nominees should have to answer, and those Republicans who are ready to rubber stamp questionable nominations should be held accountable. Because only 51 votes are required to confirm the nominees, Senate Democrats can’t completely obstruct Trump’s cabinet, but they can make life miserable for those who spent the last eight years obstructing President Obama.

The shoe is now firmly on the other foot, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is about to get a taste of the consequences for his treatment of Obama. Democrats haven’t forgotten, and many of them are out to make the Republicans pay for their refusal to govern.

Trump’s first hundred days may go up in smoke as Senate Democrats are going to do their best to make Trump a one-term president.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association