In a stunning display of intra-party sabotage, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has opted to convene pro forma sessions throughout August, effectively slamming the door on President Donald Trump’s ability to make recess appointments amid a grinding confirmation stalemate. This maneuver, announced Saturday, ensures the Senate remains technically in session, denying Trump the constitutional leeway to bypass a chamber bogged down by Democratic obstructionism and Republican timidity.
Thune’s choice reeks of establishment cowardice, prioritizing procedural niceties over the urgent mandate voters delivered in 2024: a swift overhaul of the federal bureaucracy. The backdrop is a backlog of over 150 pending nominees—down from an earlier 161 after a flurry of last-minute confirmations—including critical posts in defense, justice, and regulatory agencies.
Trump, eager to install loyalists and drain the swamp, had pressured Republicans to adjourn properly, allowing recess picks to fill vacancies. Instead, Thune caved, scheduling token meetings every three days starting August 5, a tactic reminiscent of Mitch McConnell’s playbook to frustrate executive action.
Critics within the GOP, including firebrands like Sen. Mike Lee, decried the move as spineless, arguing it hands Democrats a victory by prolonging the paralysis. Thune defends it as pragmatic, claiming exhaustive efforts yielded 131 confirmations—the most in decades—but this rings hollow.
With Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski flanking him in approval, the decision exposes fractures in Republican unity, where moderates and institutionalists undermine a president elected to disrupt. Trump’s agenda—border security, economic revival—now languishes, victim to Thune’s deference to Senate decorum over decisive governance.
Mitch McConnell never allowed POTUS Trump a single recess appointment.
— C3 (@C_3C_3) August 3, 2025
Not ONE.
The traitor McConnell always had pro forma sessions while the senate was on vacation to stop POTUS Trump from filling positions.
Thune is doing it now.
Uniparty traitors.pic.twitter.com/apyOutPRMx
This isn’t leadership; it’s capitulation, betraying Trump’s base and inviting primaries for those who prioritize club rules over reform. As the Senate scatters for recess, the American people are left waiting, their elected executive handcuffed by his own party’s gatekeepers.