Fed-up Senate Republicans invoked the “nuclear option” on Thursday to bypass Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s obstructionism.
The invocation will allow them to more quickly confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees by making it so their nominations can be reviewed en bloc, meaning as a group, versus individually.
However, the rule change will reportedly only apply to executive branch civilian nominees, not the judiciary or Cabinet positions.
The Senate is on the road to a nuclear option rules change in order to speed up votes on lower-level presidential nominations (with an unfortunate spelling of judgment) pic.twitter.com/VsNuy0unGl
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) September 11, 2025
Republicans made the move after weeks of Democrats blocking nominees from being confirmed despite Republicans offering them a bipartisan deal that would have been at least somewhat to their advantage.
“This … has to be fixed,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the Senate floor Thursday. “We offered you a proposal that had your fingerprints on it. It wasn’t even your fingerprints, you initiated it.”
“It’s time to move. It’s time to quit stalling. … It’s time to fix this place,” he added.
Time’s up for Democrat obstructionists.
The Senate’s confirmation process will be restored and this institution will begin to fully function again. pic.twitter.com/BaNFTijqcF
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) September 11, 2025
Democrats, for their part, claimed that they just needed a few more days to tweak the bipartisan proposal.
“This would buy us the time we need and not cost the leader anything,” Senate Democratic Deputy Whip Brian Schatz said, according to CNN. “I am legitimately shocked that we are 94 percent of the way there.”
“We were achingly close to a deal, but I am afraid that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have run out of patience,” Schatz added, according to The Hill.
But Thune was having none of it.
“There were some discussions that had happened that looked a little bit promising, but then everything started, ‘Well, we got to have the weekend, talk about it and think about it,’” Thune later told CNN.
“And, you know – and so anyway, it was just, you know, there’s a time when you have to act. And that time was now,” he added.
The bipartisan package that Democrats promoted would have allowed up to 10 nominees to be confirmed at the same time. However, Republicans wanted it to be bumped up to 15 nominees at once.
By invoking the nuclear option, Senate Republicans were able to change the Senate’s rules with a simple majority vote.
The rule change comes following Democrats’ refusal to approve any Trump nominee via unanimous consent or voice vote.
“By contrast, more than 50 percent of nominees were approved by unanimous consent or voice vote during Trump’s first term and former President Biden’s tenure in office,” The Hill noted.
Not a single one of @POTUS’ nominees this term has been confirmed via unanimous consent or voice vote, which is unprecedented in modern times.
Despite Democrat obstruction, the Senate continues to get the president’s team in place. pic.twitter.com/MkxX4FeLUa
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) May 13, 2025
Thursday’s move marks the third or fourth time that the “nuclear option” has been declared within the past 15 or so years.
“Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) kicked off the push in 2012 by lowering the threshold needed to approve executive branch and judicial nominations, sans Supreme Court choices,” The Hill notes.
“Five years later, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) added Supreme Court nominees to those who require majority support. The Kentucky Republican also was in charge when the GOP lowered the amount of debate time for lower-level nominees from 30 hours to the current two-hour mark,” the reporting continues.
Schumer, for his part, warned that Republicans might come to regret using the “nuclear option,” much like Reid did years ago.
“I say to my Republican colleagues, think carefully before taking this step: If you go nuclear, it’s going to be a decision you will come to regret, he said on Monday.
That being said, he reportedly reiterated that he’s open to considering a bipartisan debt deal to fund the government, which is tied to a separate looming shutdown battle coming up later this month.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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