The new Republican majority Senate will confirm all President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) predicted Monday.
Cotton’s words hold a lot of water. He was elected in November to serve as Senate Republican Conference chair, the third-ranking post in leadership.
His bold pronouncement signals that the conference is ready to move past establishment media-generated controversy and get to work acting on Trump’s mandate by installing his picks to deliver his agenda.
“I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” Cotton tweeted Monday morning.
I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump's nominees.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) December 9, 2024
Cotton acknowledged recent history showing that if a president wants his nominee to get confirmed and sticks by him – as Trump has done with Pete Hegseth, his nominee to lead the Pentagon – that nominee will receive the support of his party’s senators.
“Of the 72 cabinet secretary nominees since the Clinton transition, only 2 nominees have ever received NO votes from the president-elect’s party,” Cotton said in a subsequent tweet. “No one should be surprised that the Republican Senate will confirm President Trump’s nominees.”
Of the 72 cabinet secretary nominees since the Clinton transition, only 2 nominees have ever received NO votes from the president-elect's party.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) December 9, 2024
No one should be surprised that the Republican Senate will confirm President Trump’s nominees.
Hegseth continued meeting Republicans senators Monday, with other nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, beginning to make the rounds as well.
Trump has an aggressive legislative agenda for the first 100 days of his administration.
Congress will likely need to pass government funding legislation by mid-March and will consider one or perhaps even two reconciliation bills.
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In the Senate, where routine tasks can often get bogged down by arcane parliamentary drudgery, time is a luxury. And Senators likely do not wish to let nomination hearings and votes drag out unnecessarily at the expense of Trump’s legislative blitzkrieg.
Cotton’s prediction is a good indication the Republican-held Senate is ready to get to work.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
