Rushmore State News

The U.S. Senate is preparing to address a backlog of presidential nominations and advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who spoke at a press conference with Republican leadership.

Thune said the nominations backlog was caused by opposition from Senate Democrats, describing it as unprecedented. He noted that past confirmations were usually achieved through unanimous consent or voice votes but stated that “this president is the only president at this point in his presidency, going back to Herbert Hoover – we went back all the way to the Hoover administration – who hasn’t had a single one of his noms confirmed either by voice vote or unanimous consent.”

Thune attributed the current situation to Democratic resistance: “So this is of the Democrats’ making. It’s not something that we can sustain; this business model doesn’t work.” He emphasized that “this president was duly elected by the American people, and they expect him to be able to put his team in place, to govern the country and enact the agenda that they voted for.”

The majority leader indicated ongoing discussions among Republican senators regarding a plan to clear the backlog. “It just flat has to happen,” Thune said, adding, “And the reason, again, is because of the Trump Derangement Syndrome that afflicts the Democrats in the United States Senate, to the point where their hatred of President Trump is borderline pathological. There isn’t anything right now that they want to vote for that he has his fingerprints on, and getting his team in place is absolutely essential. It’s part of governing this country, and we’re going to move forward.”

Turning attention to other Senate business, Thune welcomed consideration of the NDAA on the floor earlier than usual: “On the other issues that are before the Senate, delighted to have the defense authorization bill on the floor – which, again, is unusual given … recent precedent. This is something that, in the past, the Democrats have typically waited until December to do for political purposes or other reasons.” He credited Chairman Wicker and members of both parties for their input into what he described as a bipartisan product.

Thune expressed support for an open amendment process so members could propose changes aimed at strengthening or improving national security policy. He stressed: “But this is something that is so important to our country. It’s a piece of legislation we need to do every year. We wanted to do it in a timely way, under regular order, the way it should be done… And I hope that in the end, we can get a defense authorization bill passed that addresses the critical needs that our country has when it comes to national security and the very dangerous world in which we all live.”

He also highlighted how priorities related to military personnel and assets are addressed through both previous funding bills and specifically within this year’s defense authorization act: “And we did a lot of funding of some of these necessary priorities in One Big Beautiful Bill, but [the] defense authorization bill is [the] place where issues…when it comes to weaponry and technology…all get addressed.”