Thune moves to break nominee logjam via rule change: Report

Traditionally, the upper chamber is loath to alter its procedures and is a bastion of administrative conservatism.

Published: September 8, 2025 9:48am

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is reportedly eyeing a rule change in the upper chamber as a means of breaking the ongoing logjam of presidential nominations.

Democrats have largely refused to allow confirmations by voice vote, leading to a significant backlog of lower-tier presidential nominees. Thune reportedly plans to allow nominees to be confirmed in a bloc rather than individually, Politico reported, citing a "person familiar with the scheduling."

Traditionally, the upper chamber is loath to alter its procedures and is a bastion of administrative conservatism, but mounting frustration from Republicans over their inability to put Trump's picks in place has them rethinking their approach.

Notably, the Senate passed on an option that would have let Trump make recess appointments and chose to keep the Senate formally open through pro-forma sessions throughout the August recess.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.

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