Growing 'dissent' as Republicans buck Trump in 'rare' pushback against his administration

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to a state visit in Britain, September 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Despite Republicans having a 53-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, President Donald Trump has had significant difficulty getting many of his nominees confirmed.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that more than 50 of Trump's nominees requiring Senate confirmation have either been withdrawn by the White House or pulled out of the confirmation process of their own accord. In both instances, the withdrawal was due to not having at least 50 Republican votes needed to be confirmed (Vice President JD Vance can cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary). Bloomberg reporter Lilliana Byington referred to Republican "pushback" on Trump's nominees as "a rare example of dissent" in the president's second term.

Some of the more high-profile nominees who have been withdrawn include Heritage Foundation E.J. Antoni, who Trump named as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner until he was linked to a social media account that posted extreme content aimed at Democrats and minorities. The nomination of Paul Ingrassia — who Trump nominated to head the Office of Special Counsel (which is unrelated to the Department of Justice) — was withdrawn after he was found to have written text messages denigrating holidays for racial minorities.

One of Trump's biggest setbacks early on in his second term was failing to confirm Ed Martin to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (the post considered to be for an administration's top prosecutor). Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is not running for a second term, effectively ended Martin's confirmation hopes by vowing to vote against his nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We owe it to the president to say you can do so much better," Tillis told Bloomberg. He added that confirming Trump's most controversial nominees could be seen as a green light for polarizing presidential appointments to become "commonplace in the next Democrat administration."

Even though Senate Republicans have changed the rules to make it easier for Trump to have batches of nominees confirmed all at once, it still doesn't guarantee that appointments seen as too extreme will pass muster. Hamtramck, Michigan Mayor Amer Ghalib – who Trump appointed as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait — could find himself subjected to heightened scrutiny from Republicans when senators return to Washington D.C. next week due to his praise of the Muslim Brotherhood and criticism of Israel

"Your long-standing views are directly contrary to the views and positions of President Trump and to the position of the United States," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during Ghalib's October confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I, for one, am not going to be able to support your confirmation."

Click here to read Bloomberg's full report.

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