Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that Senate Democrats have resorted to "unprecedented obstruction" to interfere with the Trump administration.
Cornyn told "American Agenda" that the effort is designed to block job appointments by President Donald Trump.
"Well, I know that many have said we need to stay here during the month of August, and certainly I'm open to that," he said. "The problem is we will never catch up if we have to continue dealing with this unprecedented obstruction."
Cornyn said that unless Democrats work with Republicans and abandon their policy of obstruction, only one strategy remains.
"So that's why I have proposed that we change the rules to eliminate some of these unnecessary delays," he said.
Cornyn didn't elaborate on what rules he would like changed.
"Ordinarily, these would be agreed to or there would be a voice vote, a nonrecord vote that would allow us to expedite the consideration of the nominees and to get them confirmed," he said. "But unless this ends, we're going to have to change the way we do business here because the status quo is completely unacceptable."
Trump goaded Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to eliminate the blue slip rule that is being used by Democrats to slow down the approval of administration hires. Under the rule, senators from a federal judicial nominee's home state give their opinion of the nominee, a practice that Trump says places an "ironclad stoppage" on his candidates.
Grassley expressed disappointment at the president for posting about that. But Grassley did not go so far as to say he would not abide.
Cornyn is concerned about the backlog of nominations and, without notable rules changes, the Senate might not be able to complete the work.
"But we're now to the point where there are well over 160 confirmations to be held on the floor, and Democrats are forcing us to burn the clock on each of them. We'll never catch up with all of the folks in President Trump's administration when it comes to confirmations unless we can change the rules and expedite the treatment of these nominees," he said.
Cornyn said the Democrats' obstruction isn't fair to the president or the nominees, many of whom left their jobs anticipating moving into an administration position, or to the voters who support Trump and want to see action from his administration.
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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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