Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the chairman of the Senate GOP Conference, told Breitbart News that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is personally to blame for slow-walking the cabinet confirmations of President Donald Trump.
As it stands on inauguration day just before the inauguration, Trump will see only one cabinet confirmation for sure on Jan. 20—the confirmation of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as his Secretary of State. Despite several other Trump cabinet picks like CIA Director-designate John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary-designate Scott Bessent, Homeland Security Secretary-designate Kristi Noem, and Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth having the votes for confirmation, the Democrats are using Senate floor procedures to slow down final confirmation votes on these people—possibly endangering the American public in so doing.
Now, Cotton is speaking out telling Breitbart News exclusively just moments before Trump is sworn in that if Democrats do not cut the shenanigans now, that he will forever into the future apply what he is now calling “The Schumer Precedent” to Democrat presidents whereby they get only one Cabinet pick confirmed on Inauguration Day forever.
“Chuck Schumer is playing with fire with these nominations,” Cotton said. “If all they allow is Marco Rubio to be confirmed tonight they’ll be setting the Schumer Precedent. For as long as I’m in a US Senator, no Democrat POTUS will get more than one day one official confirmed, regardless of resume or merit.”
The Senate has held hearings already for the aforementioned Trump Cabinet picks, and several others, but there are several others yet to even get a hearing. For instance, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii does not even have a hearing scheduled at this point. Conversely, outgoing President Joe Biden had his DNI confirmed on Inauguration Day in 2021. So this new standard that’s being created in large part by Senate Democrats and deep state bureaucrats slow-walking Trump’s Cabinet picks could seriously hurt future presidents especially Democrats.
But more broadly than this new precedent that Schumer is creating, Senate Republicans either need to figure out a way to get around the obstruction and power through it or they will begin facing the wrath of the Trump base which will hold any Cabinet confirmation delays or failures against Senate Republicans.
