White House Accuses Senate Dems of 'Historic Obstruction' as Nominees Go Unconfirmed
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WASHINGTON – Just three weeks ahead of the August congressional recess, less than a quarter of President Donald Trump's nominees have actually been confirmed.
"The Senate Democrats have only confirmed 48 of 197 presidential nominees. They can't win so all they do is slow things down & obstruct!" Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.
The Senate Democrats have only confirmed 48 of 197 Presidential Nominees. They can't win so all they do is slow things down & obstruct!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2017
Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short wasted no time calling out Senate Democrats for what the White House labels "historic obstruction."
"For the past six months, Senator (Chuck) Schumer has deliberately run an unprecedented campaign of obstruction against the president's nominees for high-ranking positions in the government," said Short.
"Democrats even walked out of committee hearings to deny a quorum, like school children taking their toys from the playground," he continued.
The administration accused Senate Democrats of purposely slowing the process by not allowing as many voice votes as in years past.
According to the White House, the Obama administration was able to confirm 90 percent of nominees by voice vote only, compared to only 10 percent today.
Figures released by the White House show less than a month from the August recess, the Senate has confirmed less than 23 percent of Trump's 216 nominees, compared with 69 percent of President Barack Obama's 454 nominees.
But what that also shows is the Trump administration is nominating appointees at a much slower pace than the Obama White House.
That detail is something Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said is part of the problem.
"Thus far, the nomination process has been defined by the failure of the Trump administration to submit names for hundreds of vacant jobs, incomplete and delayed ethics and nominations paperwork from the nominees themselves, and repeated withdrawals of nominees for key positions," Schumer said in a statement.
Overall, 133 appointees are awaiting confirmation, including key roles in the Departments of Justice and Defense.
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