Democrats have spent the better part of this week lecturing Republicans about 'misinformation' and toning down the 'violent rhetoric' following the assassination of TPUS's Charlie Kirk at a campus event in Orem, Utah.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was one of many Democrats who said, "Political violence has no place in America." Less than 24 hours later, Schumer forgot about "turning down the temperature" and returned to accusing Republicans of "stealing" a Supreme Court seat:
Senate Republicans stole a Supreme Court Justice. https://t.co/vRt3Dnfypa
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 11, 2025
Schumer's accusation comes in response to Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), who objected to Democrats' obstruction of President Trump's nominees.
For two centuries, most presidential nominees have sailed through this chamber by voice vote and by unanimous consent. That was the gold standard of advice and consent. Senator Schumer and Senate Democrats abandoned it. Instead of deliberation, Senate Democrats chose…
— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) September 11, 2025
Senate Republicans have invoked the "nuclear option" to change rules and speed up the confirmation of the president's nominees.
Republicans triggered the "nuclear option" to change the rules of the Senate on a party-line basis Thursday, a move that will allow them to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominees for key executive branch positions.
The vote was 53-45 to establish a new rule that allows the Senate to confirm an unlimited number of nominees en bloc, rather than process each one individually.
The rule applies to executive branch nominees subject to two hours of Senate debate, including subcabinet picks and ambassadors. It will not affect judicial nominations. Republicans say they'll allow their own senators to object to individual nominees in any given block, but the rule will strip away the power of the minority party to do the same thing.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., initiated the process by bringing up a package of 48 Trump nominees, which under longstanding rules has been subject to the 60-vote threshold. The vote to advance them failed due to Democratic opposition. Then, Thune sought to reconsider and Republicans subsequently voted to overrule the chair, setting a precedent and establishing the new rule.
A few days ago, Majority Leader Thune signaled he was open to invoking the "nuclear option," saying on the Senate floor, "It’s time to take steps to restore Senate precedent and codify in Senate rules what once was understood to be standard practice — and that is the Senate acting expeditiously on presidential nominations to allow a president to get his team into place."
The rule changes apply to "nominees who are subject to two hours of debate under Senate rules," including Executive branch nominees, sub-Cabinet level picks and ambassadors. This rule would not apply to judicial nominees.
At the time, Schumer warned, "If Republicans go nuclear, the historically bad nominees we’ve seen so far under Donald Trump will get only worse." NBC News called it the "latest move to erode minority powers."
On Thursday, lawmakers tried to work on a last-minute deal to avoid the rule change, but negotiations fell apart.
In another floor speech, Thune said, "It’s time to move. Time to quit stalling. Time to vote. Time to fix this place."