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Donald Trump has accused Senate Democrats of deliberately delaying the confirmation of his nominees to top cabinet positions, angrily insisting, without evidence, that his political rivals are intentionally sabotaging his new administration and laughing about doing so behind the scenes.
“Democrats are purposefully delaying virtually all of my Nominees,” the president fumed on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night.
“No matter how good and well qualified someone is, they are taking maximum time for approval – and laughing about it. They’re having a good time at the Country’s expense and safety.”
He continued: “If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were nominated for a position, the Democrats would take it out to the last moment before having to approve. It is disgraceful!
“They can’t get over the landslide loss suffered in the Presidential Election. But the Democrats don’t understand, with what they’re doing, that their losses will only get greater.
“Republicans must GET TOUGH – AND MUST GET TOUGH VERY FAST. We need our Nominees NOW, for the Safety and Good of our Country!”
While the Senate has approved eight of Trump’s 22 nominees so far, including the likes of Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, others are still in limbo.
These include the likes of Pam Bondi for attorney general and three of Trump’s most controversial choices – Robert F Kennedy Jr, Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel – tapped to be America’s next secretary of health and human services, director of national intelligence and FBI director respectively.
The above have all appeared before the relevant Senate committees to be interviewed by Republicans and Democrats alike but have yet to face a deciding vote on their candidacies.
But others, like Trump’s pick for education secretary Linda McMahon, are still waiting to be heard.
Approving cabinet choices is a complex process that requires thorough background checks for all candidates before they appear before senators to take questions on their qualifications to hold the positions to which they have been nominated – and on any areas of concern the lawmakers might have about their track record or past statements on sensitive topics.
While the president’s frustration is understandable, there is no evidence to suggest Democrats are deliberately causing a delay or doing anything other than their constitutional duty by holding his choices to account.
Even without his preferred team in place, Trump has managed to make a busy start to his second stint in the White House, his first two weeks defined by a blizzard of executive orders, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring policies within the federal bureaucracy and the commencement of a tariff war with Canada, Mexico and China, which has already inspired retaliatory measures that threaten to harm the American consumer he vowed to protect.
