Senate Republicans have accused Democrats of engaging in “political extortion” by using President Donald Trump’s nominees as leverage to force through their legislative agenda.
GOP senators have now given up the fight to confirm several nominees as lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., for summer break.
The decision came after Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) met with senators who said President Donald Trump privately told them to table the negotiations for now, Politico reported.
According to an anonymous source, Thune attempted to negotiate with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) before ultimately pulling the plug.
Sources close to the matter said sticking points in the talks included issues like funding the National Institutes of Health and providing foreign aid.
Meanwhile, Democrats made a separate offer promising to confirm their nominees later this year if Republicans agreed not to remove funding that was previously approved through rescission packages.
Republicans would not agree to such terms, as Trump was not on board with these moves, and rescission only requires a simple majority in the House and Senate, which the GOP has.
With both parties at an impasse, it appears talks will have to resume when Congress reconvenes in September.
Each side is blaming the other for the standoff, with Trump aiming his ire at Schumer for holding the nomination process up over funding.
Trump excoriated Schumer in a post on Truth Social.
“Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer is demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees, who should right now be helping to run our Country,” Trump wrote.
“This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted.
“It is political extortion, by any other name.
“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump wrote.
“Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.
“Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump concluded.
Meanwhile, Schumer put the blame on Trump, whom he said “threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic art of negotiating.”
Schumer added, “He went home with nothing.”
While the Democrats play games and the Republicans skip town, the fate of at least 150 executive appointees hangs in the balance, Fox News reported.
Thune claimed that this was proof that the rules are “desperately in need of change” after the impasse and continued opposition from Democrats.
“I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken,” Thune said.
“And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.”
Democrats claim they are not holding up nominations but that Trump’s nominees are simply unqualified for the job, The Hill reported.
Schumer said as much in a post to X on Saturday.
“Historically bad nominees deserve historic levels of scrutiny,” Schumer declared.
“We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as Trump’s. And they know that,” Schumer added.
Meanwhile, Democrats attempt to extract more money and less pushback from Republicans on their spending, which demonstrates how it’s all about politics.
With Trump in office, Democrats have been digging their heels in wherever they can to thwart his agenda.
Holding up nominations is just another tactic to achieve the same end, though they should be aware that the American people have given Trump a mandate while sending the message to Democrats that their political future is at stake.
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