Washington Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, announced Monday that he is putting President Donald Trump’s nominations for the State Department on a blanket hold, delaying his plans to swiftly appoint people to important jobs.
Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire adviser, has said that he and the president will shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. Schatz, who now serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, said his action is in protest of Musk’s announcement.
It is against the law and compromises our security to dismantle USAID. Congress provides funding for USAID, which was established by federal law. Schatz stated in a statement that Elon Musk and Donald Trump cannot simply wish it away with a single word; legislation must be passed.
He went on, “I will be putting a blanket hold on all of the Trump administration’s State Department nominees until and unless this blatantly authoritarian action is reversed and USAID is operational again.” There will be catastrophic repercussions worldwide from this massive self-inflicted calamity.
A hold is basically a threat to stop the full Senate from voting quickly on a nomination. There are numerous lower-level nominees for the department who might normally be expedited to the floor for votes, so it makes Republicans go through extra steps and waste floor time to approve them.
The Senate must confirm nominees with a majority. Democrats cannot kill Trump’s nominees alone because Republicans have 53 senators. However, they have the potential to prolong the process and divert attention from other candidates or proposals that GOP leaders would rather focus on.
Even though Secretary of State Marco Rubio was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Senate approval is still needed for many high-ranking jobs beneath him.
Speaking outside USAID’s Washington headquarters on Monday afternoon, Democratic legislators denounced the agency’s unlawful closure and charged Musk and Trump with evading Congress.
We will make use of every authority available to us in the US Senate. In the House, my colleagues will follow suit. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, stated that we are currently facing a constitutional crisis. Let’s be honest about the reasons for this. Elon Musk’s business dealings with China generate billions of dollars for him. And China is applauding today’s action. The billionaire class’s current attempt to seize control of our country is undoubtedly motivated by self-interest.
Over the past four years, Republicans have frequently placed holds on nominations to express disapproval with former President Joe Biden’s policies.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, protested the Department of Defense’s abortion travel policy in 2023 by halting more than 400 military promotions for ten months.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., protested the Biden administration’s handling of the military pullout from Afghanistan in 2021 by temporarily putting a blanket block on civilian appointments for the State Department and the Department of Defense.
Also, following court cases against Trump in 2024, a number of Senate Republicans put holds on Biden’s selections, including judicial appointments.