Free Republic

The Republican-controlled Senate is to blame for only 17 Trump confirmations so far.  Trump has 1242 more needing Senate approval, or the number may be as low as 500, it's hard to pin down.  Republicans are to blame because they are in the majority and thus in control of the schedule.  Given the Senate’s vacation schedule, officially “state work period,” there is an almost impossibility of Trump getting all 1242 appointees confirmed in four years even if they worked round the clock.  If the figure is only 500 appointees it would take nearly two years of round-the-clock work. With...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he is “optimistic” that all of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees will be confirmed by the Senate during a Monday morning press conference on Capitol Hill. “I’ve been very impressed with the nominations so far, and we’ll have to wait and see who is nominated for secretary of State, and we’ll obviously treat whoever that is with respect,” McConnell said in response to a reporter’s question about whether he would have any concerns about possible conflicts of interest if Trump nominates ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of the State Department. “We’ll go...

Jennifer Rubin is the Washington Post‘s “right” columnist, though many people would dispute that designation. Rubin has made no secret of her Trump hatred, which came through today on MSNBC. Rubin branded several of Trump’s cabinet and high level nominees “ignoramuses.” “I wish I could say that Ben Carson is the only person who doesn’t have experience in his area. You mentioned Tillerson. We also have Terry Branstad, who is the ambassador to China. He’s been the Governor of Iowa! And I like her, I think she’s smart, Nikki Haley, terrific person, but she’s going to the UN. But does...

I love them both, but I really want Laura in this position.

Senate Democrats are not going to be able to block Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions bid to become attorney general. And they can’t do much to stop Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo from assuming the helm of the CIA. And they have only themselves to thank for it. That’s because exactly three years ago, the Democratic Senate majority — led by Harry Reid (Nev.) — rammed through controversial rules fundamentally changing the way the Senate does business. They unleashed in November 2013 what’s called the “nuclear option” allowing senators to approve by a simple majority all presidential appointments to the executive branch...