Breaking with tradition, Senate panel backs Trump nominees despite Democratic boycott

Source: Reuters

May 8, 2025 4:54 PM EDT Updated 3 hours ago


WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - Republicans on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed five nominees for diplomatic positions on Thursday despite a Democratic boycott, underscoring deep divisions between members of President Donald Trump's party and lawmakers from the minority. It is unusual for Senate committees to press ahead on such votes without the participation of both parties.

It was a notable departure for the foreign relations panel, which, more than other committees, has long been known for bipartisan action, including steering the unanimous confirmation in January of then-Senator Marco Rubio, to be Trump's Secretary of State. The committee's 12 Republicans backed Trump's nominees to be ambassador to Chile, the Dominican Republic, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The panel's 10 Democrats did not attend the meeting, or a subsequent nominations hearing, saying Republicans had bowed to White House pressure to go ahead without a traditional bipartisan agreement on the agenda. Senate divisions along party lines have widened since Trump began his second term on Jan. 20, with Republicans nearly unanimously supporting the president's initiatives like slashing foreign aid that once enjoyed strong bipartisan support as a crucial source of U.S. "soft power."

Republicans have not hesitated to take a hard line to overcome what they see as Democratic obstruction. In April, the Republican Majority Leader John Thune scheduled votes after midnight to confirm Trump's nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after Democrats, angry over Trump's firing of his predecessor, blocked a quick vote. The foreign relations committee's approval of the latest nominees tees up their consideration by the full Senate, where Trump's Republicans have a 53-47 majority and have confirmed every one of his picks who has come up for a vote.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/breaking-with-tradition-senate-panel-backs-trump-nominees-despite-democratic-2025-05-08/