Senate Republicans are falling behind schedule on President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees as administrative delays threaten to push back the date of confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is under pressure to get most of Trump’s nominees ready for a vote by the time he is sworn in on Jan. 20 or shortly thereafter. But paperwork holdups, including slower-than-expected FBI background checks, could get in the way of that time frame.
The delays have sparked tensions in the Senate as Democrats accuse Republicans of needlessly fast-tracking the process.
Thune told the Washington Examiner he wants to return to the “Obama standard,” in reference to the dozen nominees the Senate confirmed under former President Barack Obama during his first two weeks in office.
“I think it’s important we get back to the Obama standard,…
