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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump once again asked the senator to stay in town, bypassing the usual month-long summer break and pushing through the judicial confirmation backlog.
“The Senate should not take a break until the entire executive calendar is clear!!!” Trump wrote in the Truth Social Post on July 31.
“Republicans should do your job and check all candidates for the health and safety of America,” he added. “They should not be forced to wait.”
According to Politico, as August approached, Republicans had at least 130 candidates Logjam.
Typically, the process of verifying most low-level judicial candidates moves at a faster pace as some bipartisan agreements progress.
But this year, Democrats are frustrated with Republicans moving forward with Trump’s agenda items forward on items like drastic tax bills and $9 billion spending cuts.
The delay was frustrating to call in early July for Senate Majority Leader R-South Dakota’s John Tune.
The president also struck social media against Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, urging the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman to abandon his long-standing confirmation practices to facilitate the process.
“Senator Grassley has to step up,” Trump wrote in a July 29 post. “He should do this right away and don’t laugh at Democrats that he and the Republicans are weak and ineffective.”
Grassley said the next day that he heard the committee was “offended by what the president said” and was “disappointed that it would lead to personal insults.”
To advance the list of Trump’s candidates, Thune, along with other options, including changing Senate rules, left the door open to fall into a senator’s break.
“I think it’s all on the table,” Thune told reporters July 31.
Lawmakers often use their beloved summer break to go home and reconnect directly with their constituents. The prospect of staying in Washington for an extra few days or weeks will likely meet resistance from members on either side of the aisle.
However, some senators say they are willing to stick when necessary.
“We’re doing what we’re trying to do,” the R-Alabama Senator told USA Today. “They pay us for work. They don’t pay us to go home and sit for a month.”
