Senate Republicans confirmed a staggering tranche of President Donald Trump’s nominees on Tuesday as the government shutdown continues.
Lawmakers voted along party lines to confirm the batch of 107 of Trump’s nominees, a move that whittled down the remaining pending nominees on the Senate’s calendar to double digits. It also came as the upper chamber was deadlocked in the midst of a government shutdown, during which floor votes have largely been dedicated to trying to reopen the government.
The slate of confirmed nominees included many of Trump’s top allies and former candidates that he hand-picked to run in previous elections.
Some of the most recognizable on the list were former Republican Senate candidate and ex-NFL star Herschel Walker, who was tapped as the U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, and Sergio Gor, a top advisor to Trump who he picked to be his U.S. Ambassador to India.
Other posts confirmed included a wave of senior administration officials, several prosecutors and the reappointment of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins to a seat on the commission until 2031.
The vote also marked the second time that Senate Republicans have deployed the new rule change surrounding confirmations since going ‘nuclear’ on Senate rules last month.
Republicans opted to change confirmation rules to allow a simple majority of votes to advance large swathes of nominees in response to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus’ blockade of Trump’s picks that lasted nearly nine months into his presidency.
Typically, subcabinet-level nominees, particularly those with bipartisan support out of committee, are sped through the Senate either by unanimous consent or through a voice vote, two fast-track procedural moves in the upper chamber. But Senate Democrats refused to relent, and Republicans argued they forced their hand on a rules change that they believed would benefit both parties in the future.
The rule change allows for an unlimited number of nominees to be confirmed in a single batch, but includes several procedural hoops to jump through before a final confirmation vote.
Senate Republicans previously confirmed 48 of Trump’s picks last month. Among that batch were Kimberly Guilfoyle, who Trump tapped to be the U.S. ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, who was picked to be the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland.
