Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader for a few more weeks, is not known for keeping his thoughts to himself. But he has been uncharacteristically restrained about offering up his views on even the most eyebrow-raising potential Trump administration nominees emanating from Mar-a-Lago.
“We’re going to wait and see what happens in each of these instances before commenting,” Mr. Schumer told reporters this week, passing up a television camera-ready opportunity he would normally grab to slip a knife into any of the president-elect’s cabinet picks.
He is keeping quiet for a reason, and it is not because he does not have opinions on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s administration in the making. With some Republicans raising their own profound concerns about Mr. Trump’s ethically and legally challenged choices, such as the former Representative Matt Gaetz to be attorney general and the Fox News personality Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, why get in the way of their intraparty hand-wringing?
Mr. Schumer does not want Republicans to be able to paint him as the face of the opposition, a prospect that could help rally the G.O.P. around Mr. Trump’s choices.
His colleagues endorse it as the right move.
“I think this is a moment for Republicans to debate among themselves,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland. “Why get in the middle of a food fight?”
The strategy seems to be paying dividends. When Mr. Gaetz suddenly dropped out of the running on Thursday, he claimed privately that a handful of recalcitrant Republicans — Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as well as Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah — had prompted his exit. Right-wing activists quickly went after them, calling on MAGA world to vote them out. (Mr. Curtis, who had said nothing publicly about Mr. Gaetz’s nomination, will not even be sworn in until January.)
Mr. Schumer did not comment.
Like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr. Schumer has always been a favorite foil of Republicans, his name a rallying cry for political opponents who see him as an easy way to personify Democratic policies. By keeping a low profile on the potential nominees for now, Mr. Schumer makes it harder for Republicans to steer attention toward him to distract from their own divisions.
That has not stopped them from trying.
“We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people,” Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the incoming majority leader, wrote on social media recently, declaring that his party would keep all options open when it came to confirming Trump administration picks next year.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, complained this week of a “lynch mob” out to get Mr. Gaetz.
In reality, once Democrats are relegated to the minority in January, they will not have the ability to block the new president’s nominees as long as Republicans can stay united. Under a rules change made more than a decade ago, nominees are no longer subject to a 60-vote threshold to force a final vote and can be pushed through by a simple majority.
Republicans will have as many as 53 senators in their ranks in the next Congress, giving them the votes for confirmation with a slight cushion for defections.
Democrats still will be able to slow the process, spotlight any issues with the nominees and try to make it uncomfortable for Republicans to vote for some of them. But they ultimately cannot block them. Only Republicans can do that if enough of them band together with Democrats to oppose Mr. Trump’s choices.
A version of this confirmation dynamic is playing out on the Senate floor as Democrats try to win confirmation of as many judicial nominees as they can before the end of the year. Republicans, eager to hold open as many vacancies as possible for Mr. Trump to fill next year, were forcing multiple procedural votes in protest. But Mr. Schumer kept the Senate in late, moving through judicial nominees.
Republicans’ inability to thwart the confirmations is proving frustrating to Mr. Trump, who took to social media to demand that they show up and try to derail the judicial picks.
“The Democrats are trying to stack the Courts with Radical Left Judges on their way out the door,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!”
The roles will be reversed next year, when Democrats can make trouble but ultimately will not have the power to defeat any nominees without a few Republicans joining them — a reality that Democrats ruefully acknowledge.
“At the end of the day, as much as I wish it were not true, Republicans can have their way on the nominations in the new Congress,” Mr. Van Hollen said.
Democrats do see some opportunity in the coming confirmation fights, with Mr. Trump picking candidates that Democrats — and some Republicans — see as having serious flaws that can be showcased to the disadvantage of Mr. Trump and the Senate G.O.P. If Democrats can convert a few Republicans and derail a nominee or two, so much the better.
Some seem almost eager to get started.
“My view, and I think the Democratic view, is that we want to have votes, and we’re not going to delay,” said Senator Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont. “We’ll do due diligence and bring it up for a vote.”
While Mr. Schumer has not taken aim at any of the specific nominees, he has noted threats by Mr. Trump and some Senate Republicans to bypass the chamber altogether if his contentious nominees run into trouble and install them during a recess without a vote.
Mr. Schumer says it will be up to Mr. Thune, the new majority leader, to protect the Senate’s constitutional role.
“It will be very important,” Mr. Schumer said of Mr. Thune, “to see whether he stands by what we’ve had in America for hundreds of years: the Senate’s advice and consent.”
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