Overview
- Sen. Michael Bennet objected because ONDCP nominee Sara Bailey is classified as Cabinet-level and cannot be included in an en bloc vote for sub-cabinet posts.
- The objection halted an 88-name package Republicans were advancing under their new fast-track process and required Bailey’s removal for the group to proceed.
- Republican leaders say they will reintroduce a bigger package of about 97 nominees by adding others already cleared for floor action.
- The restart shifts the timeline for floor votes from next week into mid-to-late December under the chamber’s revised confirmation rules, according to GOP estimates.
- If approved, Republicans say the expanded tranche would push Trump’s cumulative confirmations past roughly 400, as Democrats cite broader concerns including Trump’s pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández and controversies involving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.