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President Donald J. Trump’s Nominations Face Needless Obstruction

Issued on:

RESISTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: Senate Democrats have decided to obstruct President Donald J. Trump’s Administration, and the American people, by refusing to confirm qualified nominations.

  • Democrats in the Senate have delayed crucial appointments made by President Trump in an attempt to obstruct the will of the American people and the President’s agenda.
    • Of the 197 Presidential nominations to agencies, the Senate has only confirmed 48.
    • Only 2 of President Trump’s 23 judicial nominations have actually been confirmed by the Senate.
  • Democrats in the Senate have shown they are willing to break irresponsibly with tradition that allows a President to choose his own appointees in a timely fashion.
    • Less than a month away from the August recess, the Senate has confirmed only 23 percent of President Trump’s 216 nominations.
    • By the first August recess during President Obama’s first term, the Senate had confirmed 69 percent of his 454 nominations.

UNPRECEDENTED OBSTRUCTION: In an effort to prevent President Trump from following through on the policies for which the American people voted, Senate Democrats are putting his nominations through time-consuming parliamentary procedures not seen by the previous Administration.

  • Democrats in the Senate have allowed only 10 percent of President Trump’s confirmations to happen by voice vote, while more than 90 percent of Obama’s were confirmed by a simple voice vote at this point in 2009.
  • In just a few months, Democrats have delayed President Trump’s nominations by going through the burdensome cloture process 30 times.
    • By the first August recess of his Administration, President Obama only had 8 cloture votes on his nominations.

DAMAGING THE GOVERNMENT: The blatant obstruction of President Trump’s nominations threatens key aspects of the Government, including national security, by leaving positions vacant. 

  • Key positions in the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are vacant because of obstructionism by Senate Democrats, damaging national security.
    • The Department of Defense has seen only 6 of President Trump’s 22 nominations confirmed. Positions waiting confirmation votes include:
      • Deputy Secretary of Defense
      • Principal Deputy under the Secretary of Defense
      • Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • Senate Democrats are attempting to hamstring President Trump’s law-and-order agenda by confirming less than 20 percent of his nominations to the Department of Justice and less than half of his nominations to the Department of Homeland Security.
    • The Department of Justice has only 3 of President Trump’s 19 nominations confirmed. Positions waiting confirmation include:
      • Solicitor General of the United States
      • Assistant Attorney General
    • The Department of Homeland Security has only 3 of President Trump’s nominations confirmed. Positions waiting confirmation include:
    • Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  • Even as the President pushes to reform the healthcare system so it works for the American people, only one third of his nominations to Health and Human Services are confirmed.
    • The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has only 3 of President Trump’s 11 nominations confirmed. Positions waiting confirmation include:
    • Deputy Secretary of HHS

QUALIFIED NOMINATIONS: President Trump has nominated qualified individuals to key positions, but their confirmations have been delayed by obstructionism in the Senate.

  • Patrick M. Shanahan is nominated to be Deputy Defense Secretary at the Department of Defense.
    • Dubbed by The New York Times as “Mr. Fix It” who would provide “a good complement to the strategic expertise of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.”
    • Ran Boeing’s missile-defense business.
  • Noel J. Francisco is nominated to be Solicitor General of the United States at the Department of Justice.
    • A former clerk to Antonin Scalia who has argued before the Supreme Court.
    • He served as Associate Counsel to the President from 2001 to 2003, and he was Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel from 2003 to 2005.
  • Lee Francis Cissna is nominated to be Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the Department of Homeland Security.
    • Served as an attorney at USCIS and as an immigration policy director at the Department of Homeland Security.
    • Graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown Law School.
  • Kevin Hassett is nominated to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
    • Forty-four economists from across the political spectrum sent a letter to the Senate supporting Hassett’s nomination.
    • Even economists serving in the Obama administration agreed that “the Nation would be well served if Kevin Hassett is confirmed.”
    • For the past ten CEA chair nominations, the time waiting for confirmation averaged 8 days. Hassett has already waited twenty-seven days.