Senate heads home with no deal to speed confirmations as irate Trump tells Schumer to 'go to hell'
Share this @internewscast.com


WASHINGTON (AP) The Senate left Washington Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!”

Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Trump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any fast unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each one, a lengthy process that can take several days per nominee.

“I think they’re desperately in need of change,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Senate rules Saturday after negotiations with Schumer and Trump broke down. “I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.”

Schumer said a rules change would be a “huge mistake,” especially as Senate Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass spending bills and other legislation moving forward.

“Donald Trump tried to bully us, go around us, threaten us, call us names, but he got nothing,” Schumer said.

The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have gradually escalated their obstruction of the other party’s executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations and make them less bipartisan.

In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration’s spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues.

The Senate held a rare weekend session on Saturday as Republicans held votes on nominee after nominee and as the two parties tried to work out the final details of a deal. But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told Republicans to pack it up and go home.

“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.”

Thune said afterward that there were “several different times” when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end “we didn’t close it out.”

It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.

But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation.

“We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,” Schumer said.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Pinellas Park SWAT Team Conducts Raid on “Problem Hotel” Amid Drug House Probe

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — Pinellas Park police raided a “problem hotel”…

Tampa Officers Rescue Man from Burning Building

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The community is thanking Tampa Police Officers who…

Train Derailment in North Texas Sparks Grass Fire

This story is developing; check back for updates. () Thirty-five Union Pacific…

‘Road to Recovery’ Expo Offers Ongoing Support for JBO Flood Victims

In Lamar, Tennessee, the Washington County Long Term Recovery Group hosted a…

Sanford Police Seek Help to Find Missing Mother and Her 5-Year-Old Daughter in Danger

SANFORD, Fla. – Sanford police are asking for the public’s help locating…

ICE Detains Teen with Disabilities Outside of L.A. School

Los Angeles Unified School District leaders are calling for limits on immigration…

Jewish Americans Hold Varied Views on Gaza’s Starvation Crisis

Heart-wrenching photos of malnourished children in Gaza are fueling what some Jewish…

California State Assembly Candidate Prioritizes Issues Over Party Lines

() Politicians come in all shapes and sizes. Still, Dick Lucas of…

Authorities Seek Stolen Native American Artifacts from New Mexico Dating Back Decades

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. – A case file from decades ago tells…

Ashley Biden Initiates Divorce Proceedings After 13-Year Marriage

Ashley Biden, the daughter of former President Biden and former first lady…

DC Attorney Jeanine Pirro Attributes Rise in Youth Deaths to Illegal Firearms

() U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro blamed illegal…

Springfield Crime Stoppers Request Public’s Help to Identify Power Tool Thief

In Springfield, Illinois, Crime Stoppers is seeking the public’s assistance after over…