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We are fast approaching the fourth weekend of 2025.
I the Senate it’s already behind
That could trigger Senate hearings over the weekend as Senate Republicans try to fast-track some of the president’s Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Senators failed to reach a temporary deal to speed up the confirmation of CIA director nominee John Ratcliffe.
So here are some Senate vocabulary terms for you.
Cloture, filibuster and mature.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., introduced the “clotura” on Tuesday to break filibusters on three nominees, starting with Ratcliffe. “Invoking cloture” is the parliamentary means of breaking a filibuster.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., on Tuesday filed a “clotura” to break filibusters with three Trump nominees, starting with former DNI John Ratcliffe. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
An obstruction is in the eye of the beholder. A filibuster could be a way to sustain something through a long speech. It could be a way to oppose and divert the course of the Senate. Or, it could be implied that senators plan to deploy either option. So the Senate Majority Leader gets the joke. He knows he has to “file cloture” to end the “filibuster.”
The Democrats appear stuck on Ratcliffe. So Thune took the procedural step of filing cloture motions to overcome the obstruction in Ratcliffe’s nomination, but also for Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary. Kristi Noem.
By rule, once the cloture is filed, it must “ripen” for a day before the Senate considers it. Thune filed the statement Tuesday from Ratcliffe. Therefore, Wednesday serves as an intermediate day. The Senate could vote to break the gridlock an hour after the Senate meets at 10 a.m. Thursday. As a rule, cloture voting can begin at 11 a.m. ET. That will only take 51 years to break the filibuster.
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The director of the CIA is not recognized as a full-level cabinet position. “Post cloture” time is therefore limited to just two hours, not the full 30 hours of debate allowed for all cabinet-level slots.
So if the Senate breaks the filibuster on Thursday, a vote to confirm Ratcliffe as CIA director could come just two hours later. Confirmation only needs 51 votes.
Next in line is Hegseth’s nomination. And the process starts again.
Pete Hegseth, the president’s nominee for secretary of defense, may require a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance in order to be confirmed. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox has learned that unless there is a temporary deal to speed up debate on the nominees, the confirmation vote on Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth could come as late as Friday night or early Saturday morning.
So let’s say the Senate clears the gridlock in Ratcliffe late in the morning. His nomination is debated for a couple of hours. That means the Senate could vote at 3 or 4 pm ET to confirm Ratcliffe.
With Ratcliffe confirmed, Hegseth is next. The Senate could then vote to break the Hegseth filibuster Thursday afternoon. If the Senate breaks the filibuster, it will trigger up to 30 hours of debate. If he is used all the time, final confirmation on Hegseth could come Friday night or Saturday morning.
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Regardless, here’s where things get interesting:
Fox is told there may be a tie in Hegseth’s confirmation vote. It’s about the math. Republicans have 53 members. Fox is said to be watching Sens. Mitch McConnellR-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. They have all played their cards close to the vest regarding their opinions of Hegseth. If they vote no, Vice President Vance might have to come to the Capitol to break the tie and confirm Hegseth as Defense Secretary.
No vice president had ever severed ties to confirm a cabinet secretary until former Vice President Mike Pence did so to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education on February 7, 2017. Pence also severed ties to confirm the ‘former Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. , as ambassador for religious freedom in 2018. He also broke a tie to confirm current budget director nominee Russ Vought as deputy budget director in 2018.
Next, after Hegseth, comes a procedural vote on Gov. Kristi Noem, RS.D., Trump’s pick for Homeland Security secretary. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Once the Senate dispenses with Hegseth’s nomination, it moves to a procedural vote for Noem. The Senate should break with Noem’s nomination. If that vote comes late Friday or early Saturday, the Senate could vote to confirm Noem by noon Sunday if they burn through the day. If the vote to break Noem’s filibuster comes at a “normal” time on Saturday (say, 10 or 11 a.m.), the Senate doesn’t vote to confirm Noem until Sunday night or Monday if required all the time
Thune also filed for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s nomination Thursday afternoon. So this is once Noem is confirmed. If used all the time, Bessent is not confirmed until early next week.
And so it goes.
“Do you all have your sleeping bags and cots?” asked Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Everyone is bracing for trouble.
“Right now it looks like every indication is that the votes will go through Saturday. We’ll see if that goes until Sunday or Monday with no days in between. But right now, I’m planning to be there over the weekend to vote.”, said Senator Ben Ray Lujan, DN.M.
These confirmations are Thune’s “first rodeo” as majority leader, and his first real chance to go to bat on behalf of his party’s interests. (Getty Images)
“I’m happy to be here all weekend, if that’s what it takes,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
That said, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., cautioned that sometimes things speed up in the Senate. Especially when there is talk of late night votes and weekend sessions.
“I think I’ve seen this play before,” Durbin said Tuesday. “I think it ends with an accommodation and a bipartisan deal. So I wouldn’t jump too quickly to a conclusion now.”
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That said, there are two factors at play:
Democrats want to make a point about their reservations about Trump nominees, especially those they vehemently disagree with or believe are unqualified. So, politically, it’s important for them to go to the mat and show their base that they’re standing up to the president and his office.
Likewise, this is Thune’s first rodeo as majority leader. He must establish his good faith as a leader. Politically, Thune has to show that he is fighting for Mr. Trump and his nominees, and willing to keep the Senate in session all day. In other words, there’s a new sheriff in town.
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So, unless something changes, everyone is set for a long weekend and even night sessions. The Senate is likely to confirm President Trump’s nominees.
But it can only take a while.
