President Donald Trump will see 10 additional appointees confirmed later this month when the Senate approves a nominations package that has grown to nearly 100 names.
Democrats on Thursday forced GOP leadership to restart the procedural process for the tranche of lower-level nominees over a rule violation, prompting Republicans to add more names that had been advanced from committees and were ready for confirmation.
The procedural snafu effectively delayed inevitable confirmations but allowed Republicans the last-minute chance to include more nominees before Congress departs later this month for an extended holiday recess that will stretch into early January.
The initial batch of 88 nominees, mostly lower-level positions at agencies across the federal government, was set to advance Thursday in the GOP-led chamber under new rules that allow certain appointees to be fast-tracked en masse with a simple majority. But one of them, Sara Bailey, Trump’s pick to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy and a former Fox News contributor, did not qualify. She is considered Cabinet-level and had to be removed over objections from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO).
Bennet touted his move and cited concerns elsewhere in Trump’s administration, including the pardoning of the former Honduran president’s U.S. drug trafficking conviction and controversies that have plagued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is a former Fox News host.
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“I will not allow unqualified nominees, this White House, or the president to undermine the rule of law and our national security,” Bennet said in a statement.
Without Bailey but with the extra nominees, the tranche of appointees has grown to 97. They are likely to be confirmed en bloc within the next two weeks as one of the Senate’s final acts of the year.