Senate Majority Leader John Thune argued Democrats had intentionally delayed confirmations by demanding time-consuming roll calls|Gage Skidmore|CC BY-SA 2.0

Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, moved Thursday to change Senate rules and speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominees, despite Democratic pushback.

The Senate voted 53-45 to invoke the “nuclear option,” allowing a simple majority to alter rules instead of the traditional 60 votes. 

The change enables confirmation of multiple nominees at once, clearing a backlog of nearly 150 awaiting votes.

Republicans argued Democrats had intentionally delayed confirmations by demanding time-consuming roll calls. The new process excludes Cabinet officials, Supreme Court justices, and federal judges, who still require individual votes.

Democrats admitted slowing some picks but insisted Trump’s nominees were “historically bad.” A last-minute bipartisan deal failed, deepening tensions.

Next week, the Senate could confirm 48 Trump nominees in a single vote.