The Senate on Thursday confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees in a single roll call vote after Republicans invoked the “nuclear option,” changing chamber rules to speed confirmations.
The 51-47 vote marked the first use of the new rules, which allow groups of sub-Cabinet and ambassadorial nominees to be approved by a simple majority, bypassing the delays Democrats had imposed. Judicial and top Cabinet posts remain subject to the old process.
Among those confirmed were Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News host and fundraiser for Trump’s 2020 campaign, as ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, as ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Other confirmations included Jonathan Morrison as head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and deputy secretaries at the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Interior.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Republicans had “fixed a broken process.” But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned the move erodes Senate traditions, calling Trump’s nominees “historically bad” and accusing Republicans of “rubber stamping” the president’s picks.
The confirmations cleared part of a backlog of more than 100 pending nominations, with Republicans signaling more bulk votes to come.
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