The Senate confirmed Sam Brown, a former Nevada GOP Senate candidate and Army veteran, as Trump’s Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs, overseeing the National Cemetery Administration. The bipartisan vote included support from Nevada’s Democratic Senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jackie Rosen. This confirmation comes as part of a larger political dynamic where Senate Democrats have been delaying Trump’s nominees. Brown, who served in the Army for five years and was medically retired after an IED explosion, was lauded by Trump as an ‘American hero.’ The Senate Republicans are navigating the Democrats’ resistance to move forward with other Trump nominees, with some suggesting the August recess may be cut short to expedite the process.
Brown’s confirmation marked the third of the day in the Senate, where a growing list of Trump’s nominees to a variety of agencies, judgeships, and ambassadorships have been slowed down by Senate Democrats. Senate Republican leadership are trudging through the Democrats’ blockade, and working to hammer out a deal to get more nominees moved through quicker. The Senate Republicans argued that Brown’s position, in particular, shouldn’t be subject to the partisanship on display in Democrats’ attempts to slow walk other, more controversial nominees.
Sen. Jerry Moran, chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, had his request earlier this year to confirm Brown through a much faster process, known as unanimous consent, objected to by Senate Democrats in May. ‘Laying our veterans to rest with honor, serving their families with dignity is not a Republican or Democrat issue,’ the Kansas Republican said in a statement at the time. ‘I am discouraged that we cannot work in a bipartisan manner to confirm this qualified and capable leader for the National Cemetery Administration. That position is responsible for carrying out our nation’s most solemn responsibility, burying our veterans.’