This article examines two key aspects of President Trump‘s efforts to reshape the government to achieve his policy goals: the pace of Senate confirmations of his executive branch nominees and the gender, race, and ethnicity of his confirmed nominees.
Newly inaugurated presidents are eager to staff the executive branch and begin steering the ship of state toward their policy goals. After 200 days, the Senate had confirmed 98 nominees—45 in the first 100 days and 53 in the second—a small share of about 700 positions across 15 major departments. The share of women and nonwhites among the 98 mirrored earlier trends, with fewer women and nonwhites filling the most senior government roles.
This examination focuses on confirmed nominees for the 15 cabinet departments in the line of presidential succession and compares the results to Trump‘s predecessors, going back to President George W. Bush in 2001. Data on confirmations were obtained from congress.gov, and additional online research was conducted to identify relevant demographic characteristics.
Pace of Confirmations
Unlike the haphazard approach to nominations in Trump‘s first term, the administration has so far provided the Senate with a steady stream of nominees. However, the Senate’s pace of confirmations tells a different story. After 200 days in Trump‘s second term, 98 confirmations were made, compared with 89 at the same point in his first term. Part of this uptick occurred after Senate Majority Leader delayed the Senate’s recess for one day to confirm six nominees on a Saturday. Despite this improvement in the second term, the Trump administration’s confirmation record lags well behind the records of the Bush and Obama administrations.
Gender Representation
In the second 100 days of Trump‘s second term, the Senate confirmed five female nominees, bringing the share of women among his total confirmed nominees to 12%. This figure is the lowest of the prior four administrations by a substantial margin. The percentage of women among Trump‘s confirmed nominees is roughly half that of Bush, Obama, and Trump‘s first term, and much lower than Biden‘s.
Racial Representation
Of the 53 nominees confirmed between days 101 and 200, 51 were white, resulting in a 91% white male share—the highest among the five most recent presidencies, edging out Trump‘s first term by one point. This stands in sharp contrast to Biden‘s record and far exceeds that of the other Republican in the data set, George W. Bush.
Ethnic Representation
Trump‘s confirmed nominees continue to be the least ethnically diverse going back 25 years, using U.S. Census categories. While the percentages are quite similar to Trump‘s first term, they contrast sharply with the make-up of those confirmed in the first two hundred days of the Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations.
The Bigger Picture
Two hundred days in, the pace of confirmations has increased compared to the first Trump term but remains relatively slow. The proportion of white males remains comparatively very high. One explanation for the slow pace is the heavy dose of procedural hurdles the opposition has used. Historically, both parties have used obstructive practices to delay confirmations. Today’s dysfunction may be especially intense.
To overcome this resistance, there is a possibility that frustrated Republicans might make unilateral changes to the Senate that expedite the confirmation process. If successful, the rate of confirmation could see a real bump in the next 100 days.
Procedural Hurdles
In the first 200 days, only seven nominees were confirmed without cloture being invoked, and every nominee has required a final recorded vote. The use of these procedural hurdles is at an all-time high. Democrats claim they are entitled to thoroughly review the files of these senior-level appointees. This intense dysfunction may be a result of heightened partisan tensions and strategic obstructionism.
