Overview

• Majority Whip John Barrasso used a Wall Street Journal op-ed to urge changing Senate confirmation rules to counter what he called Democratic 'dilatory warfare.'
• Republicans are weighing steps such as scrapping cloture and motions to proceed on nominees, curbing debate time, and allowing en bloc votes for lower-level posts.
• Barrasso says the Senate has confirmed only 135 of more than 1,000 Trump appointees, with roughly 145 nominees awaiting floor action, nearly half advanced with bipartisan support.
• Schumer has publicly embraced delaying tactics and, after Barrasso’s op-ed, shot back by invoking Republicans’ 2016 blockade of Merrick Garland.
• With a 53–47 majority, Republicans could act by simple majority, though some prefer rule changes over recess appointments, which Barrasso called only a temporary fix.