{"id":53352,"date":"2025-09-03T14:42:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T14:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=53352"},"modified":"2025-09-03T14:42:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T14:42:16","slug":"hypocrite-alert-sen-john-thune-slams-democrats-for-blocking-trumps-nominees-while-he-blocks-appointments-himself-with-pro-forma-sessions-to-prevent-recess-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sasquatchnewsonline.com\/?p=53352","title":{"rendered":"HYPOCRITE ALERT: Sen. John Thune Slams Democrats for Blocking Trump\u2019s Nominees While He Blocks Appointments Himself with Pro Forma Sessions to Prevent Recess Appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) blasted Democrats for their \u201chistoric obstruction\u201d of President Trump\u2019s nominees.<\/p>\n

But while he lectures the Left about blocking confirmations, Thune himself is the mastermind behind the scenes to make sure Trump can\u2019t fill critical positions through recess appointments.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Thune took to X to whine about how Democrats are dragging their feet on confirming Trump\u2019s civilian nominees.<\/p>\n

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He posted: \u201cAs of today, @POTUS has not had a single one of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. If Democrats continue to drag out the confirmation of every single one of the nominations of a duly elected president, then we are going to have to take steps to get this process back on a reasonable footing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an accompanying video, Thune scolded Democrats for \u201chistoric obstruction,\u201d citing past presidencies where 90% or more of nominees were approved without drawn-out floor fights.<\/p>\n

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Sen. Thune:<\/strong>
\n\u201cMr. President, along with the National Defense Authorization Act and funding the government, we have another important task to accomplish in the coming weeks, and that is making major headway on confirming more of President Trump\u2019s nominees.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a lot of work here in the Senate to overcome Democrat obstruction, we went into August having confirmed 135 of the President\u2019s civilian nominees\u2014more than had been confirmed by this point in his first term. But there are a lot more nominees to go.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m here to tell my Democrat colleagues that their historic obstruction cannot continue. Mr. President, when voters elect a President, that comes with certain expectations\u2014one of which is that a President will be able to fill up his or her administration with his or her nominees.<\/p>\n

Historically, the Senate has reflected that by confirming most of a President\u2019s civilian nominees by unanimous consent or voice vote\u2014which means without obstruction or blocking.<\/p>\n

President George H. W. Bush had 98% of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote here in the Senate. So did President Clinton. President George W. Bush and President Obama both had 90% of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote.<\/p>\n

But things changed during the first Trump administration. Democrats started obstructing nominees who previously would have been confirmed without a long, drawn-out process. Even so, both President Trump in his first administration and President Biden had more than half of their civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2025. As of today, September 2nd, President Trump has not had a single one\u2014a single one\u2014of his civilian nominations confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote. Not a single one, Mr. President.<\/p>\n

By this point in his administration, President Biden had had 76\u2014seventy-six\u2014confirmed without dragging it out, delaying, blocking, and obstructing. So when I say that President Trump\u2019s nominees have faced a historic level of obstruction, Mr. President, I am not being political or hyperbolic. I am doing nothing more than stating the bare facts.<\/p>\n

Between the calendar and committees, we currently have nominations pending for a total of 302 civilian positions.<\/p>\n

Ninety-five percent of those positions\u201495%\u2014were confirmed by voice vote at least once during the previous three incoming administrations. And yet, Democrats seem unwilling to expedite consideration for a single one.<\/p>\n

Mr. President, this cannot continue. The American people elected President Trump, and like any President, he deserves to be able to fill up his administration. In fact, we owe the voters nothing less.<\/p>\n

Now, that doesn\u2019t mean rubber-stamping every nominee, but it does mean an end to the ridiculous\u2014and I mean ridiculous\u2014delays on every nomination, including nominations that Democrats ended up supporting in significant numbers.<\/p>\n

I say that, Mr. President, because let\u2019s be clear here: the Democrat leader might like people to think Democrats are holding up all these nominees because they are, in his words, \u201chistorically bad.\u201d But in fact, at least some Democrats have ultimately voted in favor of many of these nominations.<\/p>\n

Sixty-one out of the 135 civilian nominees confirmed received at least one Democrat vote on final confirmation. And fully half of the civilian nominees currently on the calendar were reported out of committee with bipartisan support.<\/p>\n

Democrats aren\u2019t holding up nominations to minor administration positions out of principled opposition. They\u2019re holding them up because they don\u2019t like President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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As of today, @POTUS<\/a> has not had a single one of his civilian nominees confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote.<\/p>\n

If Democrats continue to drag out the confirmation of every single one of the nominations of a duly elected president, then we are going to have to take steps to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ygJOgxhx60<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) September 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But here\u2019s the kicker: just weeks earlier, Senate Majority Leader Thune quietly arranged pro forma sessions in August to make sure Trump couldn\u2019t legally bypass the Senate and make recess appointments.<\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar, under the U.S. Constitution, the president can fill vacancies through \u201crecess appointments\u201d when the Senate is not in session. These temporary appointments allow the executive branch to function even when the Senate is deliberately stalling. But pro forma sessions\u2014fake, symbolic meetings with no real business\u2014keep the Senate technically \u201copen,\u201d blocking the president from exercising that constitutional authority.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what Thune did. He locked in a sham Senate calendar with \u201cpaper sessions\u201d on eight different dates in August\u2014each just minutes long\u2014effectively preventing Trump from appointing nominees without Democrat consent.<\/p>\n

The sham schedule included pro forma sessions on:<\/p>\n