What began as promising bipartisan negotiations in the Senate collapsed dramatically Saturday night after President Donald Trump intervened, derailing a deal that could have confirmed dozens of his nominees.
Senators had been working toward a compromise that would have allowed votes on nearly 60 administration nominees, many of whom had already passed committee scrutiny with bipartisan support. But the effort came to a screeching halt following a fiery Truth Social post from Trump that accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of holding the process hostage.
“Schumer is demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees,” Trump wrote. “This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name.”
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Doubling down, he added: “Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!”
Trump urged Republicans to reject the deal outright: “Do not accept the offer. Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
In the end, only seven nominees were confirmed in a flurry of last-minute votes before lawmakers departed Washington until September.
For Schumer, Trump’s outburst handed Senate Democrats a political win. Standing next to a poster-sized printout of Trump’s post, Schumer accused the former president of walking away from the table just as progress was within reach.
“He took his ball, he went home, leaving Democrats and Republicans alike wondering what the hell happened,” Schumer said. “Trump’s all-caps Tweet said it all. In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiating.”
Behind the scenes, both parties had believed they were edging closer to consensus. Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that multiple proposals had been floated in an attempt to strike a balance.
“There were several different times where I think either or both sides maybe thought there was a deal in the end,” Thune stated.
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Senate Democrats had conditioned their support on key demands: unfreezing billions in NIH and foreign aid funds and securing a commitment from the White House not to pursue future budget clawbacks. In return, they would confirm a slate of noncontroversial nominees.
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But as talks evolved, some Republicans accused Schumer of moving the goalposts. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., argued that the Democratic leader had “gone too far” by escalating his demands.
“We’ve had three different deals since last night,” Mullin said. “And every time it’s been, every time it’s ‘I want more.’”
Mullin insisted Republicans were not blindsided by Trump’s directive and emphasized the White House had been fully engaged in the process.
“You get to a realization that there was, it was never about making a deal,” he said. “They want to go out and say the President’s being unrealistic, and because he can’t answer to his base to make a deal like we have in every other president in history.”
Despite the breakdown, Republicans will not pursue recess appointments, but Mullin hinted at potential changes to the confirmation process once Congress returns in September.
“The asks evolved on both sides quite a bit over time,” Thune acknowledged as reported by Fox News. “But in the end, we never got to a place where we had both sides agree to lock it in.”
Democrats, however, pushed back on that framing, saying their offer remained consistent while Republicans kept increasing the number of nominees, some of whom were partisan lightning rods.
Schumer declined to detail his demands but warned against any attempt to alter Senate rules. “That would be a huge mistake,” he said, urging Republicans to break ranks with Trump as Congress gears up for another looming budget deadline.
“They should stop listening to him,” Schumer declared. “If they want to do what’s good for the American people, they shouldn’t be in blind obeisance to Donald Trump.”
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