11 GOP Senators Ask for 24/7 Schedule to Accomplish Trump’s Agenda
ARRA News Service Editor: Where are the other Republican Senators signatures demanding to work longer to get confirmations completed so that Obama democrat appointees are not still controlling operations in the Trump administration. Copy of letter added to the below article.
by Ian Snively: Eleven GOP senators wrote a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to extend the chamber’s work hours to a 24/7 schedule “ to advance the president’s agenda.”
“1,200 nominations are subject to Senate confirmation,” said Caroline Vanvick, deputy communications director to Sen. David Perdue, one of the signers of the letter, in an email with the Daily Signal. “Because of Democratic delays, if we don’t pick up the pace in the Senate, President Trump won’t have his full team in place until after his first term.”
At this time, President Donald Trump has had 172 nominees confirmed. At the same time in their presidencies, Barack Obama had 359 nominees confirmed, and George W. Bush 375, according to CNN.
Besides Perdue, the letter was signed by Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Dean Heller, R-Nev.; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Luther Strange, R-Ala.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; and James Lankford, R-Okla.Dear Leader McConnell:
The 115th Congress is being disrupted by sustained, partisan obstruction. We believe our conference must be willing to change how the Senate operates both by tradition and by rule.
We appreciate your acknowledging our concerns and applaud your plan to work nights and weekends when necessary to overcome this gridlock. You have our full support to turn the Senate on full time, 24/7, to advance the president’s agenda, including a meaningful health care solution, bold changes to our tax code, and funding the government by year’s end.
As you know, one glaring example of this unprecedented obstruction is the minority party’s perversion of Senate rules to undercut the confirmation process of the administration’s nominees and judicial appointments. When new presidents are elected, they have always been given an opportunity to put their team in place in short order. Historically, this is not just a common courtesy, it is an expectation of Americans to have a seamless transition of power resulting in a functioning federal government.
It is abundantly clear that the tactics employed by the minority are designed to imperil the new administration and its agenda. Overcoming this obstruction will require a real commitment on our part. An aggressive work calendar, as you have proposed, which should include nights and weekends, will enable administration and judicial nominees to be confirmed more quickly.
You have our pledge to be available for voting day and night and we offer our time to preside over the Senate when necessary to keep us on track. Given the unprecedented obstruction by our colleagues across the aisle, we hope you will also take a renewed look at the rules governing executive branch nominations.
Our conference should always remember that we are fighting for hardworking Americans. In their daily lives, when there is work to be done – whether on assembly lines, in the fields of family farms, fishing in our bountiful waters, or standing in harm’s way – everyday Americans do what it takes to get the job done. We owe them the same unrelenting effort in the job they gave us to do.
The letter was sent after McConnell, R-Ky., announced at a party lunch on Tuesday that he planned to extend the chamber’s work hours to Fridays and possibly weekends. According to Politico, the schedule was extended to give the Senate the opportunity to approve Trump’s nominees as well as pass tax reform before the end of the year.
The letter proposes an even more vigorous schedule in order “to combat partisan obstruction and get results for the American people,” according to a press release provided by Lesley Fulop, press secretary to Perdue.
This isn’t the first time GOP members have asked McConnell to extend the session time in the Senate.
“In August,” said Perdue in a statement, “we sent a letter to Leader McConnell and asked him to postpone the August state work period so we could confirm more nominees and make progress on agenda items.”
As a result, the Senate approved nearly 70 nominees.
“Now, with 36 legislative days left in the year,” said Perdue, “we have been raising these concerns again and urging Leader McConnell to turn the Senate on full-time so we can get all of our priorities done from the budget, funding the government, and tax this year.”
In the letter, Perdue and the other GOP senators accuse the Senate minority of trying “to imperil the new administration and its agenda,” and emphasize the need for the GOP to take measures to ensure their goals are met.
“Our conference should always remember that we are fighting for hardworking Americans. … We owe them the same unrelenting effort in the job they gave us to do,” the letter ends.
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Ian Snively is a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation and his article was in The Daily Signal.
Tags: GOP Senators. letter, ask for 24/7 achedule, President Trump, nominees, confirmations, Mitch McConnell, Ian Snively, The Daily Signal To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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| Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky |
“1,200 nominations are subject to Senate confirmation,” said Caroline Vanvick, deputy communications director to Sen. David Perdue, one of the signers of the letter, in an email with the Daily Signal. “Because of Democratic delays, if we don’t pick up the pace in the Senate, President Trump won’t have his full team in place until after his first term.”
At this time, President Donald Trump has had 172 nominees confirmed. At the same time in their presidencies, Barack Obama had 359 nominees confirmed, and George W. Bush 375, according to CNN.
Besides Perdue, the letter was signed by Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Dean Heller, R-Nev.; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Luther Strange, R-Ala.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; and James Lankford, R-Okla.
The 115th Congress is being disrupted by sustained, partisan obstruction. We believe our conference must be willing to change how the Senate operates both by tradition and by rule.
We appreciate your acknowledging our concerns and applaud your plan to work nights and weekends when necessary to overcome this gridlock. You have our full support to turn the Senate on full time, 24/7, to advance the president’s agenda, including a meaningful health care solution, bold changes to our tax code, and funding the government by year’s end.
As you know, one glaring example of this unprecedented obstruction is the minority party’s perversion of Senate rules to undercut the confirmation process of the administration’s nominees and judicial appointments. When new presidents are elected, they have always been given an opportunity to put their team in place in short order. Historically, this is not just a common courtesy, it is an expectation of Americans to have a seamless transition of power resulting in a functioning federal government.
It is abundantly clear that the tactics employed by the minority are designed to imperil the new administration and its agenda. Overcoming this obstruction will require a real commitment on our part. An aggressive work calendar, as you have proposed, which should include nights and weekends, will enable administration and judicial nominees to be confirmed more quickly.
You have our pledge to be available for voting day and night and we offer our time to preside over the Senate when necessary to keep us on track. Given the unprecedented obstruction by our colleagues across the aisle, we hope you will also take a renewed look at the rules governing executive branch nominations.
Our conference should always remember that we are fighting for hardworking Americans. In their daily lives, when there is work to be done – whether on assembly lines, in the fields of family farms, fishing in our bountiful waters, or standing in harm’s way – everyday Americans do what it takes to get the job done. We owe them the same unrelenting effort in the job they gave us to do.
The letter was sent after McConnell, R-Ky., announced at a party lunch on Tuesday that he planned to extend the chamber’s work hours to Fridays and possibly weekends. According to Politico, the schedule was extended to give the Senate the opportunity to approve Trump’s nominees as well as pass tax reform before the end of the year.
The letter proposes an even more vigorous schedule in order “to combat partisan obstruction and get results for the American people,” according to a press release provided by Lesley Fulop, press secretary to Perdue.
This isn’t the first time GOP members have asked McConnell to extend the session time in the Senate.
“In August,” said Perdue in a statement, “we sent a letter to Leader McConnell and asked him to postpone the August state work period so we could confirm more nominees and make progress on agenda items.”
As a result, the Senate approved nearly 70 nominees.
“Now, with 36 legislative days left in the year,” said Perdue, “we have been raising these concerns again and urging Leader McConnell to turn the Senate on full-time so we can get all of our priorities done from the budget, funding the government, and tax this year.”
In the letter, Perdue and the other GOP senators accuse the Senate minority of trying “to imperil the new administration and its agenda,” and emphasize the need for the GOP to take measures to ensure their goals are met.
“Our conference should always remember that we are fighting for hardworking Americans. … We owe them the same unrelenting effort in the job they gave us to do,” the letter ends.
------------------
Ian Snively is a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation and his article was in The Daily Signal.
Tags: GOP Senators. letter, ask for 24/7 achedule, President Trump, nominees, confirmations, Mitch McConnell, Ian Snively, The Daily Signal To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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