Overview

• The Senate voted 53-45 to establish a new precedent allowing a simple majority to confirm unlimited groups of certain executive-branch nominees en bloc.
• The change covers positions subject to two hours of debate, such as subcabinet officials and ambassadors, and does not apply to judicial or Cabinet nominees.
• Bipartisan negotiations collapsed after attempts to revive a Klobuchar–King-style package failed to win unanimous consent, prompting Republicans to act alone.
• Leaders plan to finalize the rule early next week, with an initial slate of 48 nominees queued for votes, including Brandon Williams for nuclear security and ambassadors Kimberly Guilfoyle to Greece and Callista Gingrich to Switzerland.
• Republicans cite an untenable backlog of roughly 140–150 nominees and months of Democratic objections, while Democrats label many picks “historically bad” and warn Republicans will regret curbing scrutiny.