In addition to its other legislative priorities, the Senate has and will continue to move forward with confirmation hearings and votes for 1,212 of the roughly 4,000 presidential appointments in the federal government. Senate confirmable positions include all cabinet-level officials, except the White House Chief of Staff, and hundreds of other senior posts and agency heads. Senate Democrats do not have the 51 votes that are required to block the nomination of a Trump Administration appointee but they can (and have) utilized a number of parliamentary tactics to delay confirmation, making it more difficult for the Trump Administration to implement its agenda.

Confirmed by Senate

• General James Mattis (Ret.) – Secretary of Defense, confirmed January 20 by a vote of 98 to 1
• General John Kelly (Ret.) – Secretary of Homeland Security, confirmed January 20 by a vote of 88 to 11
• Representative Mike Pompeo (R-KS) – Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, confirmed January 23 by a vote of 66 to 32
• Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, confirmed January 24 by a vote of 96 to 4
• Elaine Chao – Secretary of Transportation, confirmed January 31 by a vote of 93 to 6
• Rex Tillerson – Secretary of State, confirmed February 1 by a vote of 56 to 43
• Betsy DeVos – Secretary of Education, confirmed February 7 by a vote of 51 to 50 with Vice President Pence breaking the tie
• Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) – Attorney General, confirmed February 8 by a vote of 52 to 47
• Representative Tom Price (R-GA) – Secretary of Health and Human Services, confirmed February 9 by a vote of 52 to 47
• Steven Mnuchin – Secretary of the Treasury, confirmed February 13 by a vote of 53 to 47
• Dr. David Shulkin – Secretary of Veterans Affairs, confirmed February 13 by a vote of 100 to 0
• Linda McMahon – Administrator of the Small Business Administration, confirmed February 14 by a vote of 81 to 19
• Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) – Director of the Office of Management and Budget, confirmed February 16 by a vote of 51 to 49
• Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt – Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, confirmed February 17 by a vote of 52 to 46

Pending on Senate Executive Calendar

• Wilbur Ross – Secretary of Commerce, cloture vote approved February 17
• Representative Ryan Zinke (R-MT) – Secretary of the Interior, cloture vote to occur upon disposition of Ross
• Dr. Ben Carson – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, cloture vote to occur upon disposition of Zinke
• Former Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) – Secretary of Energy, cloture vote to occur upon disposition of Carson

Committee Confirmation Hearings Taken Place

• Seema Verma – Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Senate Finance Committee hearing took place February 16
• David Friedman – Ambassador to Israel, Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing took place February 16

No Confirmation Hearings Scheduled at This Time

• Former Governor Sonny Perdue (R-GA) – Secretary of Agriculture, nomination not yet transmitted to the Senate
• Former Senator Dan Coats (R-IN) – Director of National Intelligence, nomination transmitted to the Senate January 20
• Robert Lighthizer – United States Trade Representative, nomination transmitted to the Senate January 20
• Todd Ricketts – Deputy Secretary of Commerce, nomination transmitted to the Senate January 20
• Jay Clayton – Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, nomination transmitted to the Senate January 20
• Governor Terry Branstad (R-IA) – Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, nomination transmitted to the Senate January 20
• Rod J. Rosenstein – Deputy Attorney General, nomination transmitted to the Senate February 1
• Rachel L. Brand – Associate Attorney General, nomination transmitted to the Senate February 1
• Steven Andrew Engel – Assistant Attorney General, nomination transmitted to the Senate February 1
• Elaine Duke – Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, nomination transmitted to the Senate February 8
• R. Alexander Acosta – Secretary of Labor, nomination not yet transmitted to the Senate
• Robert Wood Johnson – Ambassador to the United Kingdom, nomination not yet transmitted to the Senate
• Heather Wilson – Secretary of the Air Force, nomination not yet transmitted to the Senate
• Philip Bilden – Secretary of the Navy, nomination not yet transmitted to the Senate

Nominations Withdrawn

• Vincent Viola – Secretary of the Army
• Andrew Puzder – Secretary of Labor