WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump again called for senators to stay in town and bypass their usual, month-long summer break to push through a backlog of judicial confirmations.
“The Senate must stay in Session, taking no recess, until the entire Executive Calendar is CLEAR!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post July 31.
“Republicans, for the health and safety of the USA, DO YOUR JOB, and confirm All Nominees,” he added. “They should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT.”
As August approached, Republicans had a logjam of at least 130 nominees, according to Politico.
Normally, the process of confirming most lower-level judicial nominees would move at a faster pace with some bipartisan agreement moving things along.
But this year, Democrats are dragging their feet, frustrated by Republicans advancing Trump’s agenda items like a sweeping tax bill and $9 billion in spending cuts.
The delays have frustrated Trump, who called earlier in July for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, to cancel the chamber’s August recess.
The president also lashed out on social media against Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, urging the Senate Judiciary Committee chair to ditch a longstanding confirmation practice to expedite the process.
“Senator Grassley must step up,” Trump wrote in a July 29 post. “He should do this, IMMEDIATELY, and not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective.”
Grassley said the next day during a committee hearing he was “offended by what the president said” and “disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”
To progress through Trump’s list of nominees, Thune has left the door open to cutting into senators’ break, along with other options such as changing Senate rules.
“I think everything is on the table,” Thune told reporters July 31.
Lawmakers often use their beloved summer breaks to return home and reconnect with constituents in person. The prospect of staying extra days or weeks in Washington would likely be met with resistance from members on both sides of the aisle.
However, some senators say they would be willing to stick around as needed.
“I’m for staying and doing what we need to do,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, told USA TODAY. “They pay us to work. They don’t pay us to go home and sit for a month.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump urges senators to skip recess and confirm more judicial nominees
