Pro Forma Sessions Look Like Betrayal — But Senate Republicans Have Confirmed 95% of Trump’s Floor-Ready Nominees [WATCH]
Every few days during Senate recesses—including the current stretch that began in mid-August and runs into September, with more breaks scheduled through the fall—a single Republican senator often boards a plane, flies back to Washington, walks onto an almost empty Senate floor, bangs a gavel for a few seconds, and flies home again. The post Pro Forma Sessions Look Like Betrayal — But Senate Republicans Have Confirmed 95% of Trump’s Floor-Ready Nominees [WATCH] appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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TL;DR
- Republican senators are conducting pro forma sessions during recesses, which is being perceived by Trump's base as blocking recess appointments and an act of betrayal.
- By early August 2026, Senate Republicans had confirmed 591 of President Trump’s civilian nominations, with approximately 95% of those ready for a vote already confirmed.
- This confirmation rate is substantially higher than at the same point in Trump's first term, when 155 nominees remained on the calendar.
- Senators like Tommy Tuberville and Josh Hawley acknowledge the optics are poor but state the sessions are procedural, and Hawley notes rule changes have cleared most nominations.
- Senator Mike Rounds defended the practice, stating the Senate's constitutional responsibility is to advise and consent, and allowing recess appointments would sideline this role.
- Rule changes implemented in September 2025 allow for en bloc confirmation of lower-level civilian nominees, significantly increasing the pace of confirmations compared to the past.
- The use of recess appointments has declined significantly across presidencies due to procedural changes and a Supreme Court ruling, with both Trump and Biden having zero such appointments.