Senate Republicans are quietly picking up speed confirming Trump administration nominees for federal posts, but the president still lags well behind both of his most recent Oval Office predecessors when it comes to filling government jobs.
As of April 15, senators had approved 421 civilian nominees since Mr. Trump took office. That is roughly 150 nominees behind President Obama at the same point, with 569 confirmations, and nearly 250 nominees behind President George W. Bush.
Mr. Trump says that at the rate the Senate is going, it would take nine years to confirm all of the posts he has to fill.
It’s not that Democrats are able to derail the nominations. Thanks to Democrats’ use of the “nuclear option” rules change in 2013, the Senate can confirm the picks on a majority vote rather than having to survive a filibuster.
But under Senate rules, it can take up to three days of floor time to confirm a single nominee, giving the minority plenty of chances for obstruction.
With major Cabinet nominations pending for the State and Veterans Affairs departments, as well as Republicans’ ongoing push to fill out the federal courts with Mr. Trump’s picks, the issue is coming to a head.
“This really is a new low here in the Senate in terms of nominees,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said after Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state nominee, squeaked through a committee vote a day earlier.
Mr. Pompeo, a former congressman and current CIA director, is likely to win confirmation this week, but it will be far from the near-unanimous votes for Mr. Obama’s picks, Hillary Clinton and John F. Kerry.
What really galls Republicans are the vacancies for lower courts and other relatively mundane posts whose nominees are approved overwhelmingly — once they get a vote. Dozens of low-priority nominees have had to go through at least 30 hours of debate to win confirmation.
On Wednesday, Republicans will take the first steps to change that.
The Senate Rules Committee will vote on a proposal by Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, to cut the length of debate for lower-priority posts, such as district court nominees and non-Cabinet-level executive branch offices.
Mr. Lankford said he is only trying to go back to the 2013 arrangement between Democrats and Republicans after Democrats complained that Mr. Obama was having trouble getting his picks through the Senate.
“The only way to dial the volume back is to actually fix the rules, to be able to make sure they stay fair for everyone,” Mr. Lankford said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “This is not a partisan move for me. This is trying to get the Senate to actually function and work again.”
Democrats who voted for the rules in 2013 when they were sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, say much has changed since then.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Republicans are abusing the “blue slip” process that has given home-state senators a semi-veto over judicial picks from their states.
He also said Democrats are still sour over Republicans’ treatment of Judge Merrick Garland, Mr. Obama’s failed nominee to the Supreme Court.
Some of the problems with nominees start with poor choices at the White House, he said.
The latest to run into problems is Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, Mr. Trump’s physician at the White House, who is his pick to be veterans affairs secretary.
Both Democrats and Republicans say they have questions about Adm. Jackson’s ability to run a huge bureaucracy in the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs and are concerned about reported mismanagement at the White House medical office.
“This Trump administration has done the worst job of vetting nominees than any administration I can remember. It seems a slapdash process,” Mr. Schumer said.
He also said that at least this year, the Senate has done a better job of approving the president’s picks. From Jan. 1, 2010, to April 24, 2010, Mr. Obama had 118 civilian nominees confirmed. Mr. Trump during that same timeframe this year has had 110 picks approved. Mr. Bush was at 158 at this point in 2002.
But that faster pace has come at a price.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, has had to devote entire weeks of floor time to nominations, including powering six picks through the chamber in one week this month.
It’s been grating on rank-and-file Republicans, who say Mr. Trump is still treated unfairly.
“The leader has been very patient, but I think his patience and the patience of a number of people is growing thin, and at some point patience is no longer a virtue,” said Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican.
Mr. Trump has pushed the issue from his Twitter perch.
“Democrats are obstructing good (hopefully great) people wanting to give up a big portion of their life to work for our Government, hence, the American People. They are ’slow walking’ all of my nominations - hundreds of people. At this rate it would take 9 years for all approvals!” the president tweeted last week.
One area where Mr. Trump is doing better than his predecessors is in circuit court picks, with 15 confirmations so far — more than Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama combined at this point.
On Tuesday, senators confirmed Stuart Kyle Duncan to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The vote was 50-47, with only one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, breaking with his party to support Mr. Duncan.
Democrats have balked at Mr. Trump’s focus on confirming court picks, saying Republicans blocked attempts to fill those seats under Mr. Obama yet are now rushing to fill them with Republican appointees.
“The majority leader sees the opportunity to transform the federal judiciary in a more conservative bent as his most important legacy,” said Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat and a member of the Judiciary Committee.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.