Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters at the Capitol on Monday that he is "thinking about" keeping the Senate in action in August instead of allowing a scheduled recess.
Thune spoke with reporters Monday, according to The Hill, and said President Donald Trump has offered compelling reasons to stay at work in Washington.
Trump posted on Saturday that a lot of pending nominations to federal positions still need to be decided.
Trump wrote, "We need them badly!!!"
The Senate leader said Democrats are doing all they can to disrupt the process, and said it would be a welcome change if they would "act more according to historical precedents when it comes to this."
Thune explained that "Trump’s the first president in history that hasn’t had a [nomination] adopted by this point in his presidency, either by unanimous consent or voice. Not a single one."
He said Democrats just don’t want to see the Trump administration succeed.
"Trying to get his team in place is something that we’re very committed to and we’re going to be looking at all the options in the next few weeks to try and get as many of those across the finish line as we can," he said.
Other priorities facing the Senate, should the upper chamber stay at work, include the National Defense Authorization Act, and government funding not addressed in the recently approved rescissions bill which mainly dealt with spending cuts.
Thune posted that appropriations that may include cuts may find a reluctant body of Democrats in the Senate.
"It was deeply disappointing to hear the Democrat leader threaten to shut down the government if Republicans dared to pass legislation to trim just 1/10th of 1% of the federal budget. But I'm hopeful that that is not the position of the Democrat Party," he said.
He said a procedural vote on Tuesday may provide an indication of how the funding votes will go.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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