Senate Republicans on Thursday voted to change the chamber's rules to accelerate confirmation of President Trump's nominees and sideline Democratic opposition. The move marks a dramatic shift in Senate procedure, NBC News reports. The 53-45 party-line vote gives Republicans the ability to change the rules with a simple majority instead of 60 votes —a move senators call the "nuclear option," per the Washington Post. They'll then be able to confirm an unlimited number of nominees at once instead of one at a time. The change also will limit debate to two hours for most executive nominees. Judicial nominations are not affected.
Majority Leader John Thune led the effort after Democrats blocked a package of 48 Trump nominees. After the initial vote failed, Republicans overruled the chair to set the new precedent. Thune said the change was necessary because of what he called Democratic obstruction. Last-minute negotiations between parties failed to yield an alternative deal. The rule change immediately sets up a fast track for confirming the 48, including Brandon Williams for undersecretary for nuclear security and Kimberly Guilfoyle and Callista Gingrich as ambassadors.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the GOP move, arguing that Democrats were responding to Trump's "historically bad nominees" and that the change would give the president excessive power over appointments. Schumer warned Republicans might regret the move, calling it a "sad, regrettable day for the Senate," per NBC. The maneuver is called "the nuclear option" because senators consider it so harmful to bipartisanship, per the Hill.
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