Overview

• Senators departed Saturday night for a monthlong August recess without reaching consensus to advance more than 150 of President Trump’s pending executive and judicial nominees.
• Democrats denied unanimous consent and forced roll-call votes on each nomination, significantly slowing the confirmation process this year.
• Weekend sessions produced confirmations for a few nominees, notably Jeanine Pirro as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
• Negotiations collapsed after Senate Democrats demanded over $1 billion in restored funding and assurances against future rescission packages in exchange for advancing a nominee tranche.
• Senate Republicans, under pressure from Trump’s public rebukes, have signaled intentions to pursue rule changes, including the nuclear option, when lawmakers return in September.