Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has said Democrats are delaying the nominations because Trump’s nominees are “historically bad.” And he told Republicans that they will “come to regret” their action — echoing a similar warning from GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2013, when Democrats changed Senate rules for executive branch and lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations. At the time, Republicans were blocking President Barack Obama’s picks., Senate confirms 48 of Trump’s nominees at once after changing the chamber’s rules 1 of 3 | Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is met by reporters as he walks to his office while Congress works on a government funding solution, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite), WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees at once, voting for the first time under new rules to begin clearing a backlog of executive branch positions .