President Biden is on Track to Confirm as Many Nominees in Two Years as Trump Did in Four

     Over the past few days, I've been highlighting the historic 23 tie-breaking votes cast by Vice President Kamala Harris, including six over the period of 60 hours. Part of the reason is that, as work on a new Build Back Better Act as well as the Bipartisan Innovation Act and 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Biden's Big Budget) continues, the Senate has focused on confirming President Biden's nominations.

     Just this week, the Senate secured Democratic majorities on the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission while confirming dozens of other nominees, including ambassadors and judicial nominees. However, in terms of solely nominees to the executive branch, President Biden has now had 350 confirmed out of the 757 tracked positions.

     The Senate, meanwhile, still has 184 executive nominees to consider, and President Biden continues to announce new positions on at least a weekly basis. Even if the Senate merely confirms the nominations President Biden has already sent them, that would amount to 534 of the 757 open positions being filled. I'd venture to say they will be able to confirm more: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is on track to bring the number of confirmations above 400 within the next few weeks.

     One thing to consider is that this is in the face of unprecedented GOP opposition: Ted Cruz, until just a few months ago, blocked virtually any ambassadors from being confirmed, and now it is happening at a pace the Trump administration could never hope to match. Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley continue to attempt to block President Biden's U.S. attorney and Department of Defense nominees over an unrelated lawsuit dealing with Black Lives Matter protestors and the teaching of critical race theory, respectively. President Biden, even with less openings, has already appointed more federal judges than Donald Trump in his first two years. President Biden is also on track to fill all U.S. attorney and U.S. marshal openings, all with historic nominees. 

     Donald Trump left critical positions open, filling just 531 executive positions over the course of four years, and the results made themselves evident. Even ignoring ambassador nominations, judicial nominations, and attorney and marshal nominations, President Biden is on track to confirm as many nominees in two years as Trump did in four. Democrats have openings that can get them majorities on the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Elections Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Merit System Protection Board, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Surface Transportation Board, and numerous other federal agencies. The Senate is making it happen.