Senate throws hundreds of Trump nominees into limbo
By Jordain Carney - 01/04/19 05:09 PM EST
The Senate has sent hundreds of nominations back to the White House, throwing their fate into limbo.
Senators sent back more than 270 nominations from the previous session on Thursday, which marked the official start of the 116th Congress. The list of nominations bounced back to the White House was printed in the Congressional Record, which published Friday afternoon.
In addition to the more than 270 nominations, the Senate also returned scores of foreign service nominees who were not listed individually.
The setback will force President Trump to decide if he will renominate each of the individuals and start the Senate confirmation process over again. Trump and administration officials have repeatedly lamented the pace of confirmations on Capitol Hill.
Of 707 key positions that require Senate confirmation, Trump has gotten 434 confirmed, according to a tracker from the Partnership for Public Service and The Washington Post.
Trump in a pair of tweets on Monday knocked Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying he was holding up 360 "great and hardworking people," including ambassador picks.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/423965-senate-throws-hundreds-of-trump-nominees-into-limbo
