Having confirmed most of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees a month into his second term, the Senate will soon shift its focus to legislation and judicial nominees.
The GOP-controlled chamber has confirmed 18 of the president’s 22 Cabinet-level positions, freeing up valuable floor time that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has begun to utilize for passing Trump’s agenda.
The Senate adopted a budget framework early Friday morning that will unlock some $340 billion in border and defense spending.
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And next week, the Senate will start voting on Congressional Review Act resolutions that allow Republicans to roll back Biden-era regulations. Such resolutions must receive a vote within a certain time frame and only require a simple majority to pass.
Senate GOP leadership is eyeing a vote on a resolution led by Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) that would repeal a methane emissions fee finalized toward the end of the Biden administration, according to a source familiar with the floor schedule. The measure is expected to pass and advance to the Republican-controlled House.
The resolution is one of a number of Biden-era climate regulations that congressional Republicans will seek to dismantle in the coming months.
Due to the privileged nature of CRAs, Democrats can offer them, too, and force a floor vote. One from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to terminate Trump’s executive order declaring a national energy emergency will be brought to the floor by Feb. 28. The measure is not expected to pass in the chamber Republicans control 53-47.
Also coming into focus for Senate Republicans is confirming conservative judicial nominees, something the chamber made a priority under then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) during Trump’s first term.
A Republican aide confirmed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has started talks with the White House on advancing through his panel Trump nominees for the federal bench. There are currently 43 vacancies in the federal judiciary.
“The only discussion I’ve had is the process,” Grassley told Politico. “Just with the White House Counsel.”
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As part of a deal cut in the final weeks of Democrats controlling the Senate last year, Republicans allowed lower-level district court nominees from President Joe Biden to receive quicker votes in exchange for Democrats saving four higher-level circuit court slots for Trump to fill.
Biden ultimately surpassed Trump‘s first-term judicial record by one confirmation, bringing his total number to 235 versus Trump’s 234.
