Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Thursday that he’s getting seriously tired of Democrats delaying and obstructing presidential appointments—a sentiment the president himself echoed in a social media post earlier in July.
“This is the first president in history who has never had, at this point in his presidency, a civilian nominee approved either by unanimous consent or voice vote in the Senate,” Thune said Thursday during an interview on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio.
The stalled nominations include undersecretaries for major federal departments such as Education, Labor and Agriculture, along with judges and ambassadors.
Thune accused Senate Democrats of “delaying, obstructing, [and] blocking” the confirmation process at nearly every step, leading to significant slowdowns.
Watch:
🧵 BREAKING: Senate Democrats are trying to sabotage Trump’s presidency—again.
Not one civilian nominee has been approved by voice vote or unanimous consent. Not one.
John Thune just vowed to “grind them down.” Here’s what’s happening—and what’s next. ⬇️
THREAD 🧵 pic.twitter.com/abdVD7p31Y
— Rod D. Martin (@RodDMartin) July 25, 2025
On July 19, Trump had encouraged Thune to cancel the upcoming Senate recess unless massive progress had been made:
Here is what he said in the post if you are unable to see it:
Hopefully the very talented John Thune, fresh off our many victories over the past two weeks and, indeed, 6 months, will cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed. We need them badly!!! DJT
READ MORE: Trump Says Thune Should Keep Senators at Work, Citing Urgent Business
Thune, however, said on the podcast that he intended to get the Democrats moving even if he had to “grind them down”:
“As we head into the August break we need to get a whole bunch more confirmed, and we intend to do that,” he said, adding that his strategy is to “wear them down,” referring to his Democratic colleagues.
“Because of the way the Democrats are playing in their Trump Derangement Syndrome, they’re putting up an unprecedented level of obstruction,” he added. “I think the only way to beat that is to just grind them down.”
6/ Thune just issued a warning: the grind is coming.
“We’re going to wear them down,” said Senate GOP Leader John Thune.
He’s threatening to cancel the August recess—at Trump’s urging—to force confirmations through.
It needs to happen.https://t.co/KJqCjCMX0P
— Rod D. Martin (@RodDMartin) July 25, 2025
“I totally appreciate the president’s frustration with what’s happening on the nominee front,” he told Kilmeade. “There’s nothing about this that is easy, but it should be a lot easier than it is.”
As if to show just how unserious they are, Democrats had such hurt feelings over Trump’s nomination of Emile Bove for a judgeship on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals that they stormed out of a committee meeting Tuesday in a snit when they didn’t get their way in a procedural matter.
IMPRESSIVE STUFF: Dems Pitch Fit, Walk Out of Judiciary Committee Meeting Over Emil Bove Judicial Nomination
At this point, the unpopular Democrats have little to offer other than juvenile protests, walkouts, procedural games and temper tantrums. They will likely lose a lot of these battles, but they’ll create plenty of junior high-level theater along the way.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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