Senate Republicans voted 53-43 to end a blockade on President Trump's nominees on Thursday, invoking the so-called nuclear option.
It is a remarkable shift from Senate Republicans, who historically have placed the chamber's rules over Trump's wishes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is a former Trump critic, but he has worked closely with the president on advancing his second-term agenda.
The "nuclear option" allows the party in power to change Senate rules with a simple majority. It has been invoked in the past by both parties and is often seen as a selfish move that undermines bipartisanship.
Republicans say they were left with no alternative after Democrats spent months blocking what would normally be routine votes staffing the Trump administration. Dozens of nominees have been left in limbo, angering Thune, who is known as a mild-mannered institutionalist.
"I’ve been saying all week, ‘We’re going to vote on this on Thursday, one way or the other,'" Thune said.
"We’re going to change this process in a way that gets us back to what every president prior has had when it comes to the way that these nominees are treated here in the United States Senate -- by both sides, Republicans and Democrats; both presidents, Republicans and Democrats."
After the rule change, the Senate will be able to vote quickly on large groups of executive branch nominees, sub-Cabinet level picks, and ambassadors. The change does not apply to judicial picks.
The Senate Republicans will begin clearing the backlog next week, starting with 48 nominees.
Republicans have been happy to note that their push is based on a plan that was introduced by Senate Democrats during the Biden presidency. That plan would have allowed block votes on 10 nominees at a time.
The parties were negotiating on a framework that would increase that number to 15, but the deal fell apart.
The new Senate rules now allow block votes on an unlimited number of nominees.
The flip side of Republicans going "nuclear" is that the Democrats will benefit the next time the balance of power shifts.
But Republicans have said they are trying to restore some semblance of order.
“You always think about what’s going to happen when the shoe is on the other foot, and that is ultimately going to happen at some point,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) told reporters last week. “But this is historic obstruction. We’re trying to get back to the way this has been previously.”
