1 of 2 | Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, looks on as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, speaks during a press conference after weekly Senate caucus luncheons during the seventh day of the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 8 (UPI) — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed a bloc of 107 people nominated to serve in the Trump administration after majority Republicans secured a rules change making it easier to overcome Democratic delay tactics.
The 51-47 party line vote approved nominations that included ambassadorships, assistant or undersecretary positions, U.S. attorneys, seats on regulatory commissions and other roles in the federal government that required Senate approval.
Republicans began publicly looking into a rules change in September to speed up the confirmation process, which members of both parties at various times have used for political gain. The move is the latest in a series of rules changes that have weakened the leverage held by the chamber’s minority party.
Those confirmed Tuesday include Sergio Gor, a businessman and political operative, as ambassador to India, as well as former Georgia Senate candidate and football star Herschel Walker as ambassador to the Bahamas.
Senate majority leader John Thune issued a statement hailing the vote for “overcoming historic Democrat obstruction” and “getting more” of President Trump’s team in place. The vote is the second mass approval of Trump nominees after the Senate confirmed 58 positions last month.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer had earlier criticized the rules change, stating it would mean Republicans were caving to Trump and weakening the chamber’s “traditional and powerful sense of deliberation.”
“Well, the kind of people who have been confirmed by this chamber so far this year have been unprecedentedly bad,” Schumer said in a floor speech in September. “Beyond the pale. Scandal after scandal, expose after expose”
Former Arsenal footballer Hector Bellerin is one of the highest-profile footballers to use their significant platform and voice to talk about sustainability.
Now a Real Betis player, the 30-year-old has taken a leadership role as the chief ambassador for Forever Green – his club’s non-profit sustainability programme.
Bellerin’s passion for sustainability has also seeped through into his clothes. Last year, he released his own clothing brand, which works with deadstock materials to reduce waste.
He previously set up an initiative to plant 3,000 trees in the Amazon for every win his team achieved during his time at Arsenal, and has spoken critically about the plans Fifa – football’s world governing body – has for the 2030 World Cup.
Earlier this year, Bellerin was named in National Geographic’s 33 for 2025 list, and became an ambassador for Green Football’s Great Save campaign.
Jessie Diggins
The most successful American cross-country skier of all time, Jessie Diggins has won three medals at the Olympics and seven at World Championships.
In April 2025, Diggins and her American team-mates wore special-edition ski suits at the World Championships that depicted a melting ice cap as a way of speaking up about global warming.
The 34-year-old has devoted her platform on social media to raising awareness about climate change, with consistent public speaking through interviews and media appearances, discussing the effects global warming has on snow sports.
Sebastian Vettel
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel continues to carve out a new legacy for himself away from the racetrack.
Since retiring, Vettel has taken on many projects – big and small.
In 2023, he launched a bee sanctuary at the Suzuka F1 circuit in Japan – a symbolic project that combines his racing career with his passion for the environment. That first bee sanctuary has now expanded to a bee meadow in his native Germany.
During the 2022 season, he stopped travelling to grands prix by plane, instead choosing to drive to as many of the circuits as he could to avoid taking internal European flights.
In the past 12 months, the 38-year-old has particularly focused his attention on what is happening within the Amazon rainforest – one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet.
While in Brazil, he visited the Kayapo people – an indigenous tribe who live in, and depend, on the Amazon. By highlighting this, Vettel is bringing many new eyes to the devastating effects of deforestation.
Sofie Junge Pedersen
Danish footballer Sofie Junge Pedersenhas become well known for environmental activism throughout her career, and last year was named by the Guardian as its footballer of the year for her work in this area.
When playing for Inter Milan, she persuaded the team to not fly to matches in the 18 months she was there.
The 33-year-old’s commitment to environmentalism is long-standing.
In 2023, she led a group of 44 players to offset their flights to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. And over the past 12 months, she has continued to call upon European football’s governing body Uefa to mandate clubs to take trains instead of planes where possible.
Mass approval of nominees follows rules change that make it easier to approve lower-level Trump nominations.
Published On 19 Sep 202519 Sep 2025
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The United States Senate has confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees to government positions, following a recent rule change that allows the chamber to approve lower-level appointments in batches rather than individually.
Key political appointments on Thursday included Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former FOX News host and ex-fiancee of Donald Trump Jr, as US Ambassador to Greece.
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Callista Gingrich, the wife of conservative political pundit Newt Gingrich, was also appointed ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. She previously served as US Ambassador to the Holy See during Trump’s first administration.
The Republican-controlled Senate also approved dozens of nominations to the departments of defence, energy, labour, and the interior, as well as the US ambassadors to Argentina and Sweden.
The mass vote has been portrayed in the US media as a significant win for the Trump administration, which has struggled to get approval for more than 100 appointees due to ongoing opposition from Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the vote was possible thanks to a change in rules last week to “overcome Democrats’ historic obstruction” of the nomination process.
Under the new rules, the Senate can now approve lower-level nominations with a simple majority, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Previous rules remain in place for higher-level posts, including judicial and cabinet-level nominations.
Last week @SenateGOP took steps to overcome Democrats’ historic obstruction and restored the Senate’s longstanding practice of confirming nominees in batches.
Later today the Senate will confirm a slate of 48 nominees to get @POTUS‘ team in place to enact his agenda. pic.twitter.com/IcRmQLTz3K
Approving even non-controversial civilian nominations has become an increasingly contentious process for presidents in recent years, according to Thune, where they were once approved by near-unanimous consent or “voice vote”, which was a simple measure of vocal approval.
“[President Trump is] the first president on record not to have a single civilian nominee confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote,” Thune told the Senate on Thursday, accusing Democrats of “delay for delay’s sake”.
The fight over Trump’s nominations escalated in August during a Senate recess, when the president told Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to “GO TO HELL” in a post on Truth Social. Schumer said at the time that Democrats opposed Trump’s nominations to government posts because they were “historically bad”.
The move to block nominations has also been portrayed by the US media as one of the few tools at the Democrats’ disposal due to holding a minority in both legislative houses.
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are taking the first steps to change the chamber’s rules on Thursday, making it easier to confirm groups of President Trump’s nominees and overcome Democratic delays.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s move is the latest salvo after a dozen years of gradual changes by both parties to weaken the filibuster and make the nominations process more partisan. He has said the Democrats’ obstruction is “unsustainable” as they have drawn out the confirmation process and infuriated Trump as many positions in his administration have remained unfilled.
Opening up the Senate, Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said that the delays have prevented the Senate from spending time on legislative business.
“We’re going to fix this today, and restore the longtime Senate precedent of expeditious confirmation, and the Senate’s role as first and foremost a legislative body,” Thune said.
Republicans are taking a series of procedural votes Thursday on a group of 48 of Trump’s nominees, and are expected to vote to “overturn the chair,” or change the rules, which takes a simple majority vote. If all goes according to their plan, the nominees — undersecretaries and staff positions for various agencies across the government as well as several ambassadors — could be confirmed by next week.
The rules change effort comes as both parties have obstructed the other’s nominees for years, and as both Republicans and Democrats have advocated speeding the process when they are in the majority. The Republican rules change stops short of speeding up votes on high-level Cabinet officials and lifetime judicial appointments, and it is loosely based on a proposal from Democrats under President Biden.
Republicans have been pushing the rules change since early August, when the Senate left for a monthlong recess after a breakdown in bipartisan negotiations over the confirmation process and Trump told Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer to “GO TO HELL!” on social media.
Democrats have blocked more nominees than ever before as they have struggled to find ways to oppose Trump and the GOP-dominated Congress, and as their voters have pushed them to fight Republicans at every turn. It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations.
Schumer has said Democrats are delaying the nominations because Trump’s nominees are “historically bad.”
“If you don’t debate nominees, if you don’t vote on individual nominees, if there’s not some degree of sunlight, what will stop Donald Trump from nominating even worse individuals than we’ve seen to date, knowing this chamber will rubber stamp anything he wishes?” Schumer said Monday.
Schumer told Republicans that they will “come to regret” their action — echoing a similar warning from GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to then-Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2013, when Democrats changed Senate rules for executive branch and lower-court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations. At the time, Republicans were blocking President Obama’s picks.
Republicans took the Senate majority a year later, and McConnell eventually did the same for Supreme Court nominees in 2017 as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
“I say to my Republican colleagues, think carefully before taking this step,” Schumer said.
The Spanish-language awards show will broadcast live on Sept. 25, 2025 from Panama City at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT.
Premios Juventud announced its nominees for its 22nd annual award ceremony. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny and Venezuelan balladeer Danny Ocean both lead with six nominations each.
Not far behind are hitmakers Anitta, Beéle, Carín León, Emilia, Myke Towers, Netón Vega and Peso Pluma, who each count five nominations. Other nominees include Becky G, Camilo, Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera, Kapo, Karol G and more.
It’s a monumental year for the awards ceremony, which began back in 2004 as part of the Univision network, now under the media conglomerate TelevisaUnivision.
The live broadcast will take place in Panama City, Panama, which is the first time the show will be held outside of the U.S. The decision to host abroad follows TelevisaUnivision’s “commitment to honoring the strength, values, and traditions of Latin American communities,” the network writes in a press release statement.
But location is not the only new element in the works. The theme this year is “Evolucionando al ritmo de la música,” and that certainly seems to be the case.
This year, Premios Juventud is introducing eight new categories to its lineup that better reflect evolving youth interest, including best alternative Mexican music song, best pop/rhythmic song, Afrobeat Latino of the Year.
While there has historically been an emphasis on music and television, this year the organization is also honoring creators in the beauty and fashion industry as well as podcasters, streamers, travel vloggers and soccer enthusiasts. In recent years, the award show has opened up new categories for digital creators, advocates and comics as social media platforms have become a hot spot for growing Latino talent.
Winners of Premios Juventud 2025 are determined by votes from viewers, which can be cast at premiosjuventud.com from now until September.
Hosted by Dominican actor Clarissa Molina (and others TBA), the awards show will broadcast live on Sept. 25 from the Figali Convention Center on Univision, UNIMÁS, Galavisión and ViX at 4 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. CT.
Gary Lineker has received his first National Television Award nomination since 2017 in the wake of his exit from Match of the Day.
Lineker left the football show after 26 years at the end of the Premier League season in May. It was also his last appearance for the BBC after the latest in a string of controversies about his social media use led him to announce he would be leaving the corporation.
Lineker has been voted onto the shortlist for best TV presenter – and could pull off a major upset if he breaks Ant and Dec’s 23-year winning streak in that category at the ceremony in September.
Elsewhere, Netflix’s Adolescence is up for three awards – with on-screen father and son Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper going up against each other for the best drama performance award.
The show, which became a runaway hit and national talking point earlier this year, will also be the hot favourite to win best new drama.
Gavin and Stacey’s finale, which attracted more than 20 million viewers at Christmas, is likewise the frontrunner in the comedy category.
Michael McIntyre and Stacey Solomon are nominated for three prizes each – with Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out and Stacey & Joe occupying two spots on the shortlist for best factual entertainment show.
The public will bote for the winners, which will be revealed on 10 September.
WASHINGTON — The director of the agency that produces the nation’s jobs and inflation data is typically a mild-mannered technocrat, often with extensive experience in statistical agencies, with little public profile.
But like so much in President Trump’s second administration, this time is different.
Trump has selected E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to be the next commissioner at the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Antoni’s nomination was quickly met with a cascade of criticism from other economists, from across the political spectrum.
His selection threatens to bring a new level of politicization to what for decades has been a nonpartisan agency widely accepted as a producer of reliable measures of the nation’s economic health. Although many former Labor Department officials say it is unlikely Antoni will be able to distort or alter the data, particularly in the short run, he could change the currently dry-as-dust way it is presented.
Antoni was nominated by Trump after the BLS released a jobs report Aug. 1 that showed that hiring had weakened in July and was much lower in May and June than the agency had previously reported. Trump, without evidence, charged that the data had been “rigged” for political reasons and fired the then-BLS chair, Erika McEntarfer, much to the dismay of many within the agency.
Antoni has been a vocal critic of the government’s jobs data in frequent appearances on podcasts and cable TV. His partisan commentary is unusual for someone who may end up leading the BLS.
For instance, on Aug. 4 — a week before he was nominated — Antoni said in an interview on Fox News Digital that the Labor Department should stop publishing the monthly jobs reports until its data collection processes improve, and rely on quarterly data based on actual employment filings with state unemployment offices.
The monthly employment reports are probably the closest-watched economic data on Wall Street, and can frequently cause swings in stock prices.
When asked at Tuesday’s White House briefing whether the jobs report would continue to be released, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration hoped it would be.
“I believe that is the plan and that’s the hope,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt also defended Antoni’s nomination, calling him an “economic expert” who has testified before Congress and adding that “the president trusts him to lead this important department.”
Yet Antoni’s TV and podcast appearances have created more of a portrait of a conservative ideologue than a careful economist who considers trade-offs and prioritizes getting the math correct.
“There’s just nothing in his writing or his resume to suggest that he’s qualified for the position, besides that he is always manipulating the data to favor Trump in some way,” said Brian Albrecht, chief economist at the International Center for Law and Economics.
Antoni wrongly claimed in the last year of Biden’s presidency that the economy had been in recession since 2022; called on the entire Federal Reserve board to be fired for not earning a profit on its Treasury securities holdings; and posted a chart on social media that conflated timelines to suggest inflation was headed to 15%.
His argument that the U.S. was in a recession rested on a vastly exaggerated measure of housing inflation, based on newly purchased home prices, to artificially make the nation’s gross domestic product appear smaller than it was.
“This is actually maybe the worst Antoni content I’ve seen yet,” Alan Cole of the center-right Tax Foundation said on social media, referring to his recession claim.
On a 2024 podcast, Antoni wanted to sunset Social Security payments for workers paying into the system, saying that “you’ll need a generation of people who pay Social Security taxes but never actually receive any of those benefits.” As head of the BLS, Antoni would oversee the release of the consumer price index by which Social Security payments are adjusted for inflation.
Many economists share, to some degree, Antoni’s concerns that the government’s jobs data have flaws and are threatened by trends such as declining response rates to its surveys. The drop has made the jobs figures more volatile, though not necessarily less accurate over time.
“The stock market moves clearly based on these job numbers, and so people with skin in the game think it’s telling them something about the future of their investments,” Albrecht said. “Could it be improved? Absolutely.”
Katharine Abraham, an economist at the University of Maryland who was BLS commissioner under President Clinton, said updating the jobs report’s methods would require at least some initial investment.
The government could use more modern data sources, she said, such as figures from payroll processing companies, and fill in gaps with surveys.
“There’s an inconsistency between saying you want higher response rates and you want to spend less money,” she said, referring to the administration’s proposals to cut BLS funding.
Still, Abraham and other former BLS commissioners don’t think Antoni, if confirmed, would be able to alter the figures. But he could push for changes in the monthly news release and seek to portray the numbers in a more positive light.
William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner by Trump in his first term and also served under Biden, said he is confident that BLS procedures are strong enough to prevent political meddling. He said he didn’t see the figures himself until two days before publication when he served as commissioner.
“The commissioner does not affect the numbers,’’ Beach said. “They don’t collect the data. They don’t massage the data. They don’t organize it.”
Regarding the odds of rigging the numbers, Beach said, “I wouldn’t put it at complete zero, but I’d put it pretty close to zero.’’
It took about six months after McEntarfer was nominated in July 2023 for her to be approved. Antoni will probably face stiff opposition from Democrats, but that may not be enough to derail his appointment.
Sen. Patty Murray, a senior Democrat from Washington, on Tuesday slammed Antoni as “an unqualified right-wing extremist” and demanded that the Republican chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, hold a confirmation hearing for him.
Rugaber and Boak write for the Associated Press. AP writers Paul Wiseman and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. Got any home improvement projects on tap? Seems like a good time to tackle one while we take a look at the shows that might win Emmys next month for writing and directing.
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Writing and directing power rankings
The writing and directing categories at this year’s Emmys could give us a couple of A-list acceptance speeches — Ben Stiller and Seth Rogen — as well as providing the usual hints about what shows will wind up prevailing in the series categories.
Let’s sketch out how the races are shaping up with our official set of power rankings, ordered from worst to first for drama, comedy and limited series. Try to see if you can read it all in a single take in honor of all the “oners” nominated.
Drama series directing
Adam Scott and Britt Lower in “Severance.”
(Apple TV+)
7. “The White Lotus.” “Amor Fati,” Mike White Season 3 aftertaste remains as bitter as one of Timothy’s poison piña coladas.
6. “Slow Horses.” “Hello Goodbye,” Adam Randall Another exemplary season. There’s a reason Randall recently became the first director to be hired for another go-round.
5. “Andor.” “Who Are You?,” Janus Metz Should be required viewing for American citizens right now.
4. “The Pitt.” “7 a.m.,” John Wells How it all began …
3. “The Pitt.” “6 p.m.,” Amanda Marsalis And how it ended.
2. “Severance.” “Chikhai Bardo,” Jessica Lee Gagné We finally got our Gemma episode and it was breathtaking in the ways it used visual language to convey the most heartbreaking love story this side of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
1. “Severance.” “Cold Harbor,” Ben Stiller Innie Mark vs. Outie Mark. Frantic chases down the hallways. An impossible choice. And a marching band.
Comedy series directing
Sarah Polley, left, Catherine O’Hara and Seth Rogen in “The Studio.”
(Apple TV+)
5. “Mid-Century Modern.” “Here’s to You, Mrs. Schneiderman,” James Burrows For those keeping score, that’s Emmy nomination No. 28 as a director for Burrows. (He has won five times.)
4. “The Bear.” “Napkins,” Ayo Edebiri Tina’s origin story, and the episode that probably won Liza Colón-Zayas her Emmy last year. Also likely to be remembered for being Edebiri’s directorial debut and, taken with her co-writing this season’s standout “Worms,” an auspicious sign of good things to come.
3. “The Rehearsal.” “Pilot’s Code,” Nathan Fielder In which Fielder lives the life of Sully Sullenberger, from baby to adult, complete with a puppet mom and an unforgettable lactation scene.
1. “The Studio.” “The Oner,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Not my favorite “Studio” episode (that would be “The Pediatric Oncologist”) but an obvious choice to take this category.
Limited / TV movie directing
Owen Cooper, left, and Stephen Graham in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix )
6. “Sirens.” “Exile,” Nicole Kassell It was not a good year for limited series.
5. “Zero Day,” Lesli Linka Glatter Seriously.
4. “Dying for Sex.” “It’s Not That Serious,” Shannon Murphy La petite mort onward to the last roundup. Que Dieu te garde, Molly.
3. “The Penguin.” “A Great or Little Thing,” Jennifer Getzinger Just when you thought it couldn’t get any darker, the show’s finale went there.
2. “The Penguin,” “Cent’Anni,” Helen Shaver The series’ best episode and why Cristin Milioti will probably win the Emmy.
1. “Adolescence,” Philip Barantini Every episode was a oner.
Drama series writing
Tramell Tillman in “Severance.”
(Apple TV+)
6. “Slow Horses.” “Hello Goodbye,” Will Smith To my great and everlasting surprise, “Slow Horses” won this Emmy last year, meaning that however long it lasts — and there will be at least two more seasons — it will have triumphed at least once.
5. “The White Lotus.” “Full–Moon Party,” Mike White I’m a little like Saxon after his hookup with his brother in this episode, wanting to pretend it — and the whole season — never happened.
4. “The Pitt.” “7 a.m.,” R. Scott Gemmill This is such a wonderfully written episode, introducing us to a couple of dozen characters, establishing them and the setting and doing so in a tight 53 minutes.
3. “Andor.” “Welcome to the Rebellion,” Dan Gilroy There’s so much respect for what the Gilroy brothers did with “Andor” that you could see voters having a strong impulse to reward it.
2. “The Pitt.” “2 p.m.,” Joe Sachs You remember how this episode ends? The honor walk for Nick? I am getting tears in my eyes typing this sentence. And that was just one element in an episode that left me so gutted that I had to sequester myself after it ended before I could even choke out a word or two with my wife.
1. “Severance.” “Cold Harbor,” Dan Erickson Trippy, emotionally fraught season finale that’ll probably win since loyalists of “The Pitt” have two choices in this category.
Comedy series writing
Jean Smart in “Hacks.”
(Jake Giles Netter / HBO Max)
6. “What We Do in the Shadows.” “The Finale,” Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms They shut the casket one final time, satisfying nearly everyone who loved the show for six seasons.
5. “Somebody Somewhere.” “AGG,” Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett Another series finale, a near-perfect summation of the show’s lovely blend of joy and melancholy.
4. “Abbott Elementary.” “Back to School,” Quinta Brunson Solid season opener of a series that has crossed over into “taken-for-granted” status.
3. “The Rehearsal.” “Pilot’s Code,” Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Locke-Norton and Eric Notarnicola “It was difficult at first to inhabit the mind of a baby. I know so much more than babies do, and it can be hard to forget all that stuff. So I tried not to think about the fact that I was a 41-year-old man and just did my best to be present in the moment.”
2. “The Studio.” “The Promotion,” Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez The episode that started it all and made me more interested to see a “Kool-Aid” movie than practically anything that an actual studio released this summer.
1. “Hacks.” “A Slippery Slope,” Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky “Hacks” has won this Emmy twice in its first three seasons, and the dramatic episode — Deborah loves Ava more than her dream job! — seems a spot to prevent a “Studio” sweep.
Limited / TV movie writing
Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix )
5. “Say Nothing.” “The People in the Dirt,” Joshua Zetumer Car bombs, hunger strikes, political assassinations.
4. “Black Mirror.” “Common People,” Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali Technology really is going to destroy us, isn’t it?
3. “Dying for Sex.” “Good Value Diet Soda,” Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether Of course, we’re all gonna die anyway. Might as well indulge.
2. “The Penguin.” “A Great or Little Thing,” Lauren LeFranc After all, evil and depravity win out in the end.
1. “Adolescence,” Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham So hug your children tonight.
WASHINGTON — The Senate is leaving Washington on Saturday night for its monthlong August recess without a deal to advance dozens of President Trump’s nominees, calling it quits after days of contentious bipartisan negotiations and Trump posting on social media that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer can “GO TO HELL!”
Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Trump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any fast unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each one, a lengthy process that can take several days per nominee.
“I think they’re desperately in need of change,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said of Senate rules Saturday after negotiations with Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Trump broke down. “I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.”
The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have escalated their obstruction of the other party’s executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations — and make them less bipartisan.
In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans refused to consider any of President Obama’s judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch.
Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration’s spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues.
But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told senators to pack it up and go home.
“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump posted on his social media platform. “Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country.”
Thune said afterward that there were “several different times” when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end “we didn’t close it out.”
It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try to confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.
But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation.
“We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,” Schumer said Saturday.
Jalonick and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press.
The countdown is almost over: The 2025 Emmy nominations will be announced this morning.
Harvey Guillén, the actor who played the sole human roommate in a vampire household on FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” for six seasons, and Netflix’s “Running Point” star and real-life knowledgeable sports fan Brenda Song will be on hand to make the announcement live from the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre along with academy chair Cris Abrego. The nominations will be streamed live starting at 8:30 a.m. PT on the Television Academy website and social media channels.
As a teaser, the nominations for talk series and reality competition program were announced at 4:47 a.m. PT live on “CBS Mornings.”
The 77th Emmy Awards will be held on Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. The live telecast will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which honors the artistic and technical achievements as well as some performance categories, will be held on Sept. 6 and 7, then edited to air Sept. 13 on FXX.
Talk series
“The Daily Show” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”
Reality competition program
“The Amazing Race” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” “Survivor” “Top Chef” “The Traitors”
Emmy nominations voting ends tonight at 10 p.m. PT. Still need help with your ballot?
I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. Still time to bite into a “Jaws” doughnut and peruse my picks for this year’s Emmy races. (An ordinary bagel will do.)
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My personal picks in 15 Emmy categories
There are more than 100 Emmy categories, and if you scrolled through each and every one of them on the Television Academy’s website, you are probably one of those people who read the terms and conditions on a document before signing your name.
For me, simply filling out the following 15 categories — five each for comedy, drama and limited series — left me exhausted and in need of a sweet treat. And I already finished my “Jaws” doughnut. Maybe this cherries jubilee? Paul Giamatti would approve.
Without further ado, here are my picks and a brief line of reasoning for each. And if it’s predictions you’re after, you can find our full BuzzMeter panel’s choices here.
Bridget Everett in “Somebody Somewhere.”
(Sandy Morris / HBO)
COMEDY SERIES “Abbott Elementary” “The Bear” “Hacks” “A Man on the Inside” “Only Murders in the Building” “The Rehearsal” “Somebody Somewhere” “The Studio”
Last call on nominating Everett (and her magical series), which has won a Peabody.
COMEDY ACTOR Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside” Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building” Seth Rogen, “The Studio” Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
Best Netflix comedy: “A Man on the Inside,” anchored by Danson, still a master of light laughs.
COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear” Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio” Linda Lavin, “Mid-Century Modern” Jane Lynch, “Only Murders in the Building” Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio” Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR Ike Barinholtz, “The Studio” Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons” Paul Downs, “Hacks” Harrison Ford, “Shrinking” Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear” Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary” Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”
DRAMA ACTRESS Kathy Bates, “Matlock” Britt Lower, “Severance” Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale” Kaitlin Olson, “High Potential” Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
Moss won this Emmy eight years ago. With the show ending, she has earned a parting gift.
DRAMA ACTOR Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise” Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses” Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us” Adam Scott, “Severance” Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
“Why don’t you say whatever speech you’ve got rehearsed and get this over with.” Godspeed, old friend. Also: Joel’s parting words should flash onscreen any time an Emmy winner goes long at the podium.
DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus” Taylor Dearden, “The Pitt” Fiona Dourif, “The Pitt” Tracy Ifeachor, “The Pitt” Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt” Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise” Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”
Women of “The Pitt” > Women of “The White Lotus”
DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR Patrick Ball, “The Pitt” Gerran Howell, “The Pitt” Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus” Damian Lewis, “Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light” Jack Lowden, “Slow Horses” Tramell Tillman, “Severance” John Turturro, “Severance”
I don’t know. Tillman might deserve the Emmy for this alone.
Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix )
LIMITED SERIES “Adolescence” “Dope Thief” “Dying for Sex” “The Penguin” “Say Nothing”
“Adolescence” should win everything.
LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE ACTRESS Kaitlyn Dever, “Apple Cider Vinegar” Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin” Lola Petticrew, “Say Nothing” Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex” Renée Zellweger, “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”
OK, maybe not everything, as “Adolescence” doesn’t have a submission here. Zellweger probably won’t win because comic acting rarely does, even though it most definitely should.
LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE ACTOR Colin Farrell, “The Penguin” Stephen Graham, “Adolescence” Brian Tyree Henry, “Dope Thief” Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer” Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
Farrell has already won so many awards for “The Penguin,” it feels like either A) he must have won the Emmy too or B) he hasn’t, and good God, let somebody else have a prize. (Like Graham.)
LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS Erin Doherty, “Adolescence” Ruth Negga, “Presumed Innocent” Deirde O’Connell, “The Penguin” Imogen Faith Reid, “Good American Family” Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex” Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence”
Doherty will likely win for the series’ third episode, the taut two-hander with Owen Cooper. But the fourth episode is just as good — maybe even better — featuring a heart-rending turn from Tremarco as the mom trying to hold it together.
LIMITED SERIES/MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTOR Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” Owen Cooper, “Adolescence” Rob Delaney, “Dying for Sex” Rhenzy Feliz, “The Penguin” Hugh Grant, “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” Ashley Walters, “Adolescence”
Chelsea striker Liam Delap and Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly are among six nominees for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez, former Cherries defender Dean Huijsen, Arsenal winger Ethan Nwaneri and Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers make up the shortlist.
Delap, who joined Chelsea from Ipswich in a £30m deal earlier this month, scored 12 goals in the Premier League last season as the Tractor Boys were relegated to the Championship.
Lewis-Skelly enjoyed a breakthrough campaign for Arsenal and scored on his England debut earlier this year against Albania.
Team-mate Nwaneri, 17, scored nine times in 37 appearances for the Gunners last term.
Spain international defender Huijsen earned a move to Real Madrid for his stellar performances for Bournemouth last season, while Hungarian full-back Kerkez is attracting attention from Premier League champions Liverpool after his fine performances for the Cherries.
Rogers contributed 14 goals and 15 assists as Aston Villa narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification.
The winner of the award will be announced on 19 August at a ceremony in Manchester.
May 13 (UPI) — Justice Department nominees won’t be confirmed until the Trump administration provides full transparency on “Qatari influence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on Tuesday.
The recently announced donation of a $400 million luxury Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force 1, which Trump has said will be donated to his presidential library after he leaves office, spurred opposition from Senate Democrats.
“This has the appearance of naked corruption” and “is a grave national security risk,” Schumer said Tuesday in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Given reports that you played a central role in approving his proposal, I request answers to the following questions,” Schumer told Bondi.
Schumer wants to know if the aircraft will include secure communications, self-defense systems, shielding and other security requirements that “are ready on day one.”
If so, he wants to know who installed them and how the Trump administration knows the aircraft is not a national security threat.
If not, Schumer wants to know “what modifications would be needed to ensure a foreign-sourced Air Force One is safe to use and free of security threats.”
He also wants to know if taxpayers would have to pay to retrofit the aircraft, if the gift would negate a $3.9 billion 2018 contract with Boeing for two new presidential aircraft, and how much such a cancellation might cost.
If the $3.9 billion contract is not cancelled, Schumer asked Bondi how the Trump administration justifies allocating resources to a foreign-sourced aircraft that only would be used while Trump is president, who negotiated the agreement and its parameters.
“What is Qatar being offered in return?” Schumer asked.
He also wants to know why Bondi in February “deprioritized enforcement” of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and other foreign-influence laws.
“Please explain this decision to weaken FARA, which requires agents of foreign governments, like Qatar, to register and disclose their activities,” Schumer said.
“Until the administration provides a detailed justification of this new program, including complete and comprehensive answers to these and other questions posed by oversight committees, I will place a hold on all political nominees of the Department of Justice,” Schumer said.
Senate rules enable a senator to place a blanket hold on political nominations for matters that are unrelated to the respective nominees.
A White House spokesperson accused Schumer of politicizing the aircraft donation.
“Sen. Schumer and his anti-law-and-order party are prioritizing politics over critical DOJ appointments, obstructing President Trump’s Make America Safe Again agenda,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to UPI.
“Cryin’ Chuck must end the antics, stop Senate stonewalling and prioritize the safety and civil rights of Americans,” Fields added.
A DOJ spokesperson in an emailed statement to UPI said Schumer and Senate Democrats should stop blocking DOJ nominees.
“The American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump to nominate highly qualified candidates at the Department of Justice who will Make America Safe Again,” the spokesperson said. “The Senate should do its part by confirming these nominees.”
