John Thune Responds to Chuck Schumer on Nominee Confirmations

Restoring Senate Precedent on Nominees

• 🏛️ Senator John Thune criticizes the Democratic commentary on his initiated process to restore Senate precedent for expeditious presidential nominee confirmations.
• 💡 Thune suggests Democrats lack a strong argument, as they previously eroded and broke the confirmation process themselves.
• 🤝 He posits that some Democrats may be secretly relieved by the restoration of precedent, avoiding the prospect of blanket obstruction.

Questioning Democrat Support for "Bad" Nominees

• 🤔 Thune challenges Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's claim that President Trump's nominees are "historically bad."
• 📊 He highlights that 62 out of 139 civilian nominees have been confirmed with Democrat support, questioning why Democrats vote for nominees in committee and on the floor if they are truly that poor.
• ❓ Thune specifically points to a US attorney nominee for Minnesota, supported by both state's Democrat senators, asking if Schumer implies they are supporting "historically bad nominees."

Petty Partisanship vs. Institutional Integrity

• 🎭 Thune argues that objections to confirmations, like the US attorney nominee and a nominee previously put forth by President Biden, are driven by petty partisanship, not genuine concerns about nominee quality.
• 🗣️ He quotes a Democrat senator describing the Senate as a "full-time employment agency" due to this partisanship.

Addressing Transparency Concerns

• 🚫 Thune refutes Schumer's claim that restoring precedent will eliminate transparency, likening the accusation to approving nominees "in the dead of night."
• 📺 He notes that nominees go through committee processes and that past confirmations, including Biden nominees, occurred with C-SPAN cameras present.

Call for Bipartisan Cooperation

• 🤝 Thune describes the proposed rule amendment as having a "bipartisan pedigree" and aims to restore sanity to a broken confirmation process.
• 📢 He urges Democrat colleagues who care about the institution to join in protecting Senate precedent and making the Senate fully functional again.