Democrats have refused to budge on several of President Trump's nominees since he was inaugurated. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer admitted recently that much of their stubbornness is due to the Republicans' attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Patrick Shanahan, Trump's nominee for deputy defense secretary, is one of the people affected by the Democrats' political stalling. Perhaps when things "change a little bit in healthcare," they can consider his nomination, Schumer said.
Other Democrats have refused to hand over blue slips to the Judiciary Committee to allow Trump's judicial nominations to proceed.
As of two weeks ago, the president bemoaned on Twitter that only 48 of his 197 nominees had been approved. He accused the Democrats of only wanting to "slow things down and obstruct."
Other top Republicans agree the Democrats are guilty of obstructionism, and a recent study of the average time it's taken presidents to get their nominees confirmed gives credence to their complaints.
43 days, THE HIGHEST average time it's taken for the Senate to confirm a @POTUS nominee compared to past admins in recent history. pic.twitter.com/Pi2YDGdhiM
— GOP (@GOP) July 10, 2017
Democrats signaled Tuesday that they are ready to play ball. That is, if the GOP health bill fails.
“Mitch McConnell put reconciliation on the table hours after the session started and it has really tainted all of our efforts,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in an interview. “When he is prepared to return to regular order, I think we are going to have a much more cooperative Senate.”
We'll find out soon if the Democrats are true to their word. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is holding a vote on the motion to proceed to Obamacare replacement bills Tuesday.