General Discussion

A blanket hold does not mean the Senate is unable to confirm these nominees, but it does force the chamber’s Republican majority to burn valuable floor time to overcome the hold. Only a simple majority vote is needed to overcome the hold.

Schumer can’t block these nominees with this tactic, but he can slow down their consideration. It’s not really clear if the judicial nominees would have already been held for other reasons, considering that the vast majority of Trump nominees have already been held in this way.