Four days into President Donald Trump’s second administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the sole Senate-confirmed member of the Cabinet, putting the 47th president well behind his recent predecessors in positioning his key advisors, a situation some Republicans have attributed to Democratic intransigence.

The perceived obstruction efforts of the opposition party have Republican leadership gearing up for a tense battle to push Trump’s nominees over the finish line, be it “the easy way or the hard way.”

While Rubio earned unanimous approval for the post on day one, Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of Trump’s CIA Director-designate, John Ratcliffe, and several key nominees have yet to even receive hearings.

“Democrats blocked John Ratcliffe’s confirmation vote because they don’t care about qualifications, integrity, or national security,” the Senate GOP account insisted. “But they do care about denying President Trump his cabinet, even if it hurts the country.”

The upper chamber had expected to confirm Ratcliffe on Tuesday, though the Democrats managed to delay the final vote through a procedural measure. A former Director of National Intelligence and D.C. insider, Ratcliffe’s confirmation has not ranked among the more contentious of Trump’s nominees.

Republicans, however, appear to have doubled down and are planning to work through the weekend to push through Trump’s nominees “the easy way or the hard way.” Ratcliffe is far from the only Trump nominee to face scrutiny, however. FBI director-designate Kash Patel, DNI-designate Tulsi Gabbard, and Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. all have yet to appear before their relevant Senate committees at all.

How does the pace compare?

Republicans' assertions that Democrats have held up Trump’s Cabinet appointments appear to hold some water relative to the confirmation pace of some recent Democratic administrations and even Trump’s first term. His confirmation pace, thus far, appears just shy of Biden’s.

In his first term, Trump saw two key officials receive Senate confirmation on Jan. 20, 2017. James Mattis and John Kelly received confirmation as Secretary of Defense and Department of Homeland Security secretary, respectively. Elaine Chao followed suit as Transportation secretary on Jan. 31, 2017.

Now-former President Joe Biden, secured the confirmations of DNI Avril Haines and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin by this point in his presidency. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were confirmed on Jan. 25 and 26, 2021, respectively.

President Barack Obama, however, saw seven members of his Cabinet confirmed via voice vote on Jan. 20, 2009. Several more were confirmed by either voice vote or roll call by Jan. 23.

To be sure, several contentious nominees, including Pete Hegseth have cleared key procedural hurdles on the way to a floor vote, even earning some Democratic support despite personal scandals and a bevy of negative headlines.

Marching forward

Republicans appear bullish on confirming Trump’s top nominees, especially Hegseth, but are also increasingly open to less conventional measures to steamroll through Democratic procedural hurdles.

“We’re going to wear down the Democrats. Either you’re going to play ball with us, or you’re going to go without sleep,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said on Fox News.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, for instance, has already vowed that the Senate will work through the weekend on confirming Cabinet nominees and has further declared that Republicans were willing to work “Nights. Weekends. Recesses.”

Trump himself floated recess appointments during the presidential transition, especially as Republican support for his most unconventional nominees, namely former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for attorney general, was tenuous. He went so far as to call on Republican candidates for Senate leadership to commit to such appointments during the contest to lead the upper chamber.

Thune has not yet committed to holding recess appointments for any particular nominee and it remains unclear whether they will prove necessary to get any appointments over the finish line. The relevant Senate committees are scheduled to hold hearings for the Veterans’ Affairs secretary, EPA Administrator, Army secretary, and Housing and Urban Development secretary this week.

A shift in tone

Thune’s declared willingness to pursue recess appointments appears to mark a considerable shift in the upper chamber GOP’s willingness to bend its norms as Trump’s influence appears stronger than his first term. Thune himself was previously a strong critic of Trump from within the party’s ranks but salvaged their relationship before the leadership contest.

Speaking on Ratcliffe’s stalled nomination, Thune blasted the Democrats for slow-walking a "bipartisan nomination” on American national security.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said of blocking the nominations. “We’re gonna file cloture on him. You can force us to hang around here and we can vote on these things Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and we’re gonna vote on them.”

“I understand there are some that are gonna draw some opposition from the other side of the aisle,” he acknowledged. “Everything we’re doing right now is just stalling and I don’t know what that accomplishes for you.”