Summary
- Trump orders the Senate GOP to confirm nominees fast.
- Democrats delay key nominations with tactics.
- Democrats block unanimous consent, force roll calls.
- Republicans push confirmations despite delays.
- The GOP says Dem obstruction harms the government.
Among the nominees who are most upsetting Senate Democrats are Paul Ingrassia, Mike Waltz, Emil Bove, and Jeanine Pirro—all of whom Trump appointed to important positions in his administration.
They are only a handful of the numerous, less contentious individuals who are being hampered by delay tactics, but the majority of them have all progressed slowly through the procedure.
More than 140 "civilian" nominees are still pending for ambassadorships, judgeships, and other government agency jobs. Although the Senate has confirmed almost 100 nominations in the last six months, moving at a breakneck pace, Trump has urged Republicans to remain in Washington instead of taking a month-long vacation.
Republicans are willing to keep members in town over the weekend if their Democratic counterparts don't compromise, and they are attempting to work out an agreement with Democrats to ensure that more low-hanging fruit nominations, such as ambassadors, receive approval for a quicker Senate floor procedure.
"Democrats want to get out of here for August recess, then fine, give us a certain amount of en blocs that we can go through with non-controversial nominees,"
US Senator Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said.
Democrats have targeted Bove in particular because he was Trump's personal lawyer before joining the Justice Department. He is reaching the conclusion of his confirmation process after Trump nominated him to serve a lifetime appointment to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order,"
Bove said during his confirmation hearing.
He’s also become a prime target of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other Democrats, including Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who staged a walkout in protest of his nomination during a recent hearing.
"He's the extreme of the extreme,"
Schumer said.
"He's not a jurist. He's a Trumpian henchman. That seems to be the qualification for appointees these days."
Although not to the same extent as Bove, Pirro, a former Fox News host appointed to be the top federal prosecutor in D.C., has encountered opposition as well—Senate Democrats left the same meeting talking about her and Bove's nominations.
On a party-line vote, however, she was promoted out of committee, bringing her one step closer to permanently assuming the role she currently occupies in the interim.
As the administration's final cabinet appointment, Trump appointed Waltz to the post of U.S. ambassador to the UN.
Following "Signalgate," a widely reported error in which he added a journalist to a group chat on the messaging app Signal that involved Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and others discussing the preparations and implementation of an attack against Yemen, Waltz resigned his initial position as national security advisor. He left the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as well.
When Ingrassia's name was removed from a list of other nominees scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week, his nomination as special counsel—a role that would see him head the government watchdog Office of the Special Counsel—was derailed.
Since graduating from law school three years ago, Ingrassia has faced criticism for his limited legal career and his ties to white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
How effective are Democrats’ parliamentary obstruction tactics on confirmations?
Democrats’ parliamentary obstruction tactics on confirmations have been notably effective in delaying the confirmation process, even though Republicans continue to confirm a significant number of President Trump’s nominees.
These tactics include withholding unanimous consent for every nominee, which traditionally allows smooth, quick confirmations for non-controversial candidates. By denying unanimous consent, Democrats force roll-call votes and extended debates on nearly all nominees, greatly slowing the process.
As a result, the confirmation pace is hampered, requiring long sessions and procedural battles, despite Republicans confirming over 100 nominees through late July 2025.