Call to Action: May 18, 2018

On the same day Ronny Jackson’s unvetted nomination blew up, the Senate Rules Committee passed, on a party-line vote, Senate Resolution 355, shortening the time for floor debate on non-cabinet and district court nominees from 30 to 8 and 2 hours respectively. The current sloppy vetting process makes the Senate’s job more important than ever, suggesting the Senate needs more, not less, time to properly vet Trump’s nominees.

Democrats blame Trump’s poor/non-existent vetting for the Senate’s slow pace:

• the revolving door of staff departures taking up valuable floor time
• the unusual number of unqualified nominees
• the placement of friends/family in positions of authority
• the centrality of loyalty and personal connections rather than competence/experience
• the dozens of nominees, like Jackson, who withdraw after embarrassing disclosures.

Needing to confirm as many nominees before a possible Democratic takeover and the need to increase the time to debate 2019 spending bills, McConnell has threatened longer work weeks and the elimination of the August recess to force compliance.

When Senate Resolution 355 is up for debate, our Senators must stand firm against watering down the Senate’s extremely important role in the confirmation process. Our Democratic Senators must stand up to Trump’s GOP and fight to ensure that the Senate confirm only qualified, experienced nominees for our courts and the Executive Branch.