Senate Democrats are pulling out every trick in the book to delay confirmation votes for President Donald Trump’s national security Cabinet nominees, hoping to stymie the agenda that gave Trump and Republicans a mandate victory in the 2024 election.
At every turn, Senate Democrats are taking advantage of procedural hurdles to prevent Trump’s national security team from taking shape. Now, Senate Republicans are warning these tactics put American national security at risk and are promising to do whatever is necessary to get the 47th president’s nominees across the finish line.
The new president is already behind in having his nominees confirmed compared to his first term. The first time Trump was in office his Cabinet picks for the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security were confirmed on Day One. This time around the Senate only voted to confirm one of his nominees, former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, to be secretary of state, on the 47th president’s first day in office.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., prevented a final vote on John Ratcliffe to be the next director of the CIA on Tuesday—even though Ratcliffe had been voted out of committee by a margin of 14 to 3 the day prior. Some Senate Democrats have expressed appreciation that Ratcliffe had extensive national security experience having served as director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration, but that did not stop Murphy from the political theatrics. A vote for Ratcliffe is now expected Thursday.
Delaying votes for national security positions also puts the United States in a more precarious position when responding to international crises. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who voted to move Ratcliffe out of committee, has publicly acknowledged as much, stating, “I think we need to move quickly.”
Senate Democrats are also working to prevent the confirmation vote for Pete Hegseth to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth, who dealt with a particularly tense confirmation hearing, had his nomination voted out of committee along partisan lines on Jan. 20. While Democrats have attempted to use discredited allegations against the Bronze Star recipient, Republicans are planning on ending the Democrats’ filibuster Thursday and taking a final vote Friday.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who served as both lieutenant governor and governor of Idaho, emphasized in a statement to The Daily Signal the importance of having a team around a chief executive that he could trust.
“As a former Governor, I know how important it is to have people you trust in your cabinet. We must get President Trump’s cabinet nominees in place as soon as possible. I support President Trump and am working to get his nominees across the finish line,” Risch said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., noted the change in tone the Democratic senators have had regarding nominees and national security in a statement to The Daily Signal.
“Four years ago, my Democratic colleagues warned that objections to a quick confirmation of President Biden’s national security nominees would put our country at risk. America just lost 14 people in New Orleans. These votes on President Trump’s nominees are a matter of keeping our constituents and country safe,” Cassidy said.
Indeed, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told his Senate colleagues when advocating to have President Joe Biden’s Cabinet swiftly approved, “Foreign adversaries will seek to exploit this period of transition and we cannot allow America’s military, intelligence, and national security policy to be disrupted by staffing delays.”
Sen. Katie Britt also noted how vital it was to have a team in place to respond to ongoing threats to American security.
“It is more important now than ever—with threats abroad and just weeks after a terrorist attack on American soil—for the Senate to approve Donald Trump’s national security cabinet posts without delay. Continued Democrat stall tactics do nothing to bolster American safety, security, or strength. All of President Trump’s nominees need expeditious Senate confirmation for the sake of American families,” the Alabama Republican said.
“Democrats’ partisan, obstructionist delays are an insult to the hardworking American people who so decisively chose President Trump and his agenda to make America great again,” she added in a statement to The Daily Signal.
Senate Republicans have promised to do whatever it takes to get the Cabinet nominations through. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on X, “Senate Republicans are ready to work as long as needed to confirm President Trump’s nominees. Nights. Weekends. Recesses.”
“Democrats can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said in a statement to The Daily Signal, “but let me be clear: we will get President Trump’s cabinet confirmed.”
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