Trump Lashes Out at Schumer. “Republicans signal possible push to amend Senate rules after August recess to accelerate confirmation process”
The U.S. Senate departed Washington on Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without reaching an agreement to advance dozens of Donald Trump’s nominees. Days of tense bipartisan negotiations ended in gridlock, capped by Trump lashing out and telling Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to “GO TO HELL”
I think they’re desperately in need of change, said Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune on Saturday, referring to Senate procedures. “The last six months have shown the nomination process is broken. So I expect some robust discussions about that when we’re back.”
Republicans say they may move to change Senate rules when they return in September. Trump has been urging swift action as Democrats have slowed progress, blocking unanimous consent and forcing time-consuming roll call votes for each nominee, a process that can stretch for days per confirmation.
Senate Democrats warned that changing the chamber’s rules would be a “huge mistake” particularly with Republicans needing Democratic support to pass spending bills and other key legislation in the months ahead.
“Donald Trump tried to bully us, go around us, threaten us, call us names—but he got nothing,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
The latest standoff marks another chapter in a two-decade escalation of partisan warfare over executive and judicial nominations. Over the years, both parties have chipped away at Senate rules to expedite confirmations, often at the expense of bipartisan cooperation.
Republicans initially sought a negotiated deal to move a large batch of nominees in exchange for concessions on unrelated issues, including Trump administration cuts to foreign aid. Negotiations progressed throughout the week and continued into a rare Saturday session, as the Senate held back-to-back votes and leaders worked to finalize details.
Frustrated by Democratic resistance, Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to scrap the August recess and stay in Washington to confirm his backlog of nominees. Democrats have been forcing time-consuming roll call votes by denying unanimous consent, significantly slowing the pace.But the fragile talks collapsed Saturday evening when Trump lashed out at Schumer on social media, instructing Republicans to abandon negotiations.
Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Release the files, Donald. https://t.co/fVc9kriNfG
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 3, 2025
Senate Republican Leader John Thune said there were “several different times” during negotiations when both sides believed they had a deal, but ultimately, “we didn’t close it out”
This marks the first time in recent memory that the Senate minority party has refused to allow even a handful of quick, unanimous-consent confirmations. Thune has already extended the Senate’s schedule this year—adding more days and longer hours to push through as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.
Still, Democrats were unwilling to agree to a deal without concessions, such as reversing the administration’s foreign aid spending cuts. Despite their own desire to leave town after a grueling stretch of legislative battles, they held firm.
“We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now, ” Schumer said.