Senate Advances Nearly 100 Trump Nominees In Historic Move
Senate Republicans moved closer to a historic slate of confirmations on Wednesday after clearing another procedural hurdle toward approving nearly 100 nominees put forward by President Donald Trump.
Senate Republicans have advanced a group of 97 nominees in a 53–47 party-line vote. The action positions Republicans one step away from final confirmation of the nominees. A final confirmation vote is expected Thursday, unless Senate Democrats agree to accelerate the process through a time-limiting agreement.
If the upcoming vote is successful, as expected, Senate Republicans will have confirmed more of Trump’s nominees than any other president in their first year of office.
This current package of nominees would bring Trump’s total confirmations to 415 during the first year of his second term, surpassing the 323 confirmations he achieved in his first term. It also exceeds former President Joe Biden’s total of 365 confirmations by the end of his first year in office.
Since the Senate altered its rules for the confirmation process in September, Senate Republicans have quickly confirmed hundreds of Trump’s nominees. This change aimed to overcome Senate Democrats’ resistance to advancing even the most junior positions during the Trump administration, Fox noted.
The GOP triggered the “nuclear option” for the fourth time in Senate history, which lowered the threshold for confirming certain appointments to a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster.
This change has enabled Republicans to swiftly advance through sub-cabinet level positions and set the stage for what is anticipated to be a historic moment for Trump, Fox reported.
“Among the list of nominees are former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., to serve as inspector general at the Department of Labor and two picks for the National Labor Relations Board, James Murphy and Scott Mayer, along with several others in nearly every federal agency,” the outlet reported.
Lawmakers also confirmed President Trump’s nomination of billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, as well as his choice of Douglas Weaver for a position on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Isaacman’s confirmation received broad support, passing the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 67-30. However, this was the Senate’s second opportunity to consider Isaacman’s appointment as head of NASA.
Fox noted that Trump had nominated him to run the nation’s space agency in December 2024, but he was pulled earlier this year after a “thorough review of prior associations.”
But Isaacman was later nominated again in November for the same post, and Trump touted his “passion for space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new space economy.”
Last week, Senate Republicans pushed through the first procedural hurdle as they moved to confirm the dozens of nominees.
If Republicans complete the process, they will have confirmed more than 400 of Trump’s nominees during the first year of his second term. That total would place Trump well ahead of former President Joe Biden, who had 350 nominees confirmed at the same point in his presidency.
The nominees include former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York for inspector general at the Department of Labor and two selections for the National Labor Relations Board, James Murphy and Scott Mayer, as well as others across nearly every federal agency.
Murphy and Mayer were included in the package after Trump fired National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, a move the Supreme Court upheld earlier this year.
Senate Republicans changed the confirmation rules to break through Democrats’ months-long blockade of Trump’s nominees, limiting the new process to sub-Cabinet-level positions that can be approved with a simple majority.
Trump and his team have placed extreme importance on getting conservative judges approved.
Another Suspect In Massive Minnesota Food Fraud Probe Sentenced
A Lakeville man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to one year of probation for his involvement in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud investigation.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Khadar Adan, who pleaded guilty in August to one count of theft of government property, for allowing a fraudulent food distribution site to operate out of his Minneapolis business center, JigJiga.
Adan admitted to accepting $1,000 in illicit proceeds and was ordered to pay the same amount in restitution, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
Adan was the last of three defendants tied to the Lake Street Kitchen scheme housed within JigJiga to plead guilty.
The $250 million Feeding Our Future case — centered on a St. Anthony nonprofit — is the largest pandemic-era fraud prosecution in the United States. Of the 75 people charged, 50 have entered guilty pleas. Prosecutors say the defendants falsely claimed to have provided millions of meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead diverting federal reimbursements to purchase luxury cars, real estate, and other high-end goods.
According to court records, Adan and his co-defendants claimed to have served 70,000 meals between December 2020 and April 2021 through Lake Street Kitchen, receiving “significant funds” in return. Federal prosecutors said only a small fraction of those meals were actually distributed.
Co-defendant Liban Yasin Alishire, who co-operated Lake Street Kitchen and another site, Community Enhancement Services, received more than $1.6 million and pleaded guilty in 2023.
Meanwhile, a former campaign associate of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pleaded guilty last month to participating in the same scam, adding another chapter to the growing list of controversies surrounding the progressive lawmaker’s political orbit.
Federal prosecutors announced that 49-year-old Guhaad Hashi Said — described by Alpha News as an “enforcer” for Omar’s campaign — admitted in court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from a wide-ranging fraud targeting a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The conviction many in the Feeding Our Future case is yet another reminder of the vast reach of this fraud and the scale of the crisis we face in Minnesota,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement. “These crimes are not isolated events. They are part of a web of schemes targeting programs that are intended to lift up Minnesotans and bleeding them dry.
“From where I sit, the scale of the fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and every rock we turn over reveals more. We must be honest and clear-eyed about the scope of this problem, because ending it will take an unyielding, all-hands-on-deck effort from all of us,” Thompson added.
According to court documents, between December 2020 and January 2022, Said exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program, falsely claiming his nonprofit — Advance Youth Athletic Development — was serving thousands of meals daily to underprivileged children. Incorporated in February 2021, the organization was registered to a residential apartment in the Central Avenue Lofts in Minneapolis.
Beginning in March 2021, Said submitted meal count sheets claiming to have served 5,000 meals per day. From March through December of that year, he claimed to have served more than 1 million meals — but in reality provided only a fraction of that number. Prosecutors say he fabricated meal counts, attendance rosters, and invoices to secure reimbursements.
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The scheme brought in roughly $2.9 million in federal funds. Between August and December 2021, Said transferred more than $2.1 million from his organization’s bank accounts to a catering business, ostensibly for food purchases, while using other proceeds to buy real estate, cars, and personal items through a network of shell nonprofits and LLCs, the DOJ said.
Said now faces up to 25 years in federal prison when sentenced. He previously ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018.
