(The Center Square) – With Democrats still playing hardball over confirming the rest of President Donald Trump’s civilian nominees, Republicans are becoming increasingly vocal about changing Senate procedural rules to help fast-track the process.

Democrats haven’t allowed a single civilian nominee to pass by voice vote or unanimous consent, which would drastically speed up the confirmation process. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has called Democrats’ tactics “a historic level of obstruction” and urged them to “rein in their reflexive anti-Trump sentiment.”

With more than 130 nominees remaining, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters earlier this week that Senate Republicans plan to take up some kind of rules reform legislation when they return from recess in September.

This so-called “nuclear option,” implemented by a simple majority vote, could include cutting down on debate time, allowing more than one nominee confirmation per vote, or abolishing procedural votes on nominees entirely.

“What Chuck Schumer has done is slow down the process. Typically, by now, 70% of the President’s nominees are confirmed through a short process, a short pass called unanimous consent,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said Wednesday. “But Chuck Schumer is making us spend two hours at a minimum on every one of those.”

Trump also threw his support behind a rules change after nominee-related negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders apparently blew up. According to a Trump social media post Wednesday, Schumer had demanded the administration release some $2 billion in withheld federal funds in exchange for Democrats’ cooperation.

“This has never happened before. There has never, in U.S. history, been such a delay. THEY ARE EXTORTIONISTS!,” Trump wrote, referring to Senate Democrats. “Republicans must create legislation in order to get out of the grasp of these Country hating THUGS. Move quickly!!!”

This “nuclear option” is not unprecedented. Democrats used it in 2013 to limit debate time and more easily invoke cloture on all nominees except U.S. Supreme Court appointees, while Republicans extended that to include SCOTUS nominees in 2017.

“So when anyone tells you Republicans are taking the ‘nuclear option’ with President Trump to change the Senate rules, remind them that DEMS started this in 2013,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said on X Wednesday. “We’re working through rule change options with the Trump White House to expedite nominees, end the gridlock, and clear the backlog.”

If Republicans do change Senate rules, it would also allow lawmakers more time to pass the 12 annual appropriations bills providing funding for the federal government in fiscal year 2026. So far, the Senate has only passed three of those bills via a minibus, which still needs the House’s approval.

If Congress is unable to pass all 12 funding bills by Sept. 30 – the end of fiscal year 2025 – they will have to pass a short-term Continuing Resolution, or CR, to prevent a government shutdown.

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla. and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon discussed empowering parents to help them give their children a quality education. 

At a Wednesday news conference, Moody talked about the One Big Beautiful Bill and how she didn’t want the accomplishments for education and school choice to go unnoticed in Florida and across the nation.

“For those that value parental empowerment, the ability for all kids to have options and education so that they can fulfill their God-given potential,” Moody said. 

McMahon said that being able to have “universal school choice is really fantastic.”

“The president is absolutely committed that no child should be trapped in a failing school and that education needs to be returned to the states,” McMahon said. “Part of my job is to make sure that we’re finding out the best practices so that many states can follow those best practices.”

She also praised Florida for being a “leading example.”

Emphasizing the urgency of reform, she pointed out the need to give all students a chance to thrive. 

“Every student deserves a shot at success, and no child should be shackled to a failing school,” McMahon said.

She gave a brief overview of a new federal tax credit scholarship program for K-12 education, which will help support families who are picking private schools and education options that they feel would be the best fit for their children. 

“The program enables individuals to contribute tax credited scholarship funds that provide scholarships for private school tuition and a host of other education related services, products, and providers,” McMahon said. 

Congress is working alongside states to further expand school choice initiatives across the country. 

“The One Big Beautiful Bill also expands 529 plans, special family savings accounts for education to include books, materials, testing fees, dual enrollment fees, educational and tutoring costs.” 

If school choice is expanded, it gives families control and allows their children to receive the quality education they deserve.

• Ashley Olds is an intern reporter and member of the 2025 Searle Freedom Trust and Young America’s Foundation National Journalism Center Apprentice and Internship initiative. 

(The Center Square) − Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has joined a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general in urging the U.S. Department of Justice to take swift action against illegal offshore gambling operations that have proliferated across the country, endangering consumers and depriving states of billions in tax revenue.

The call for federal enforcement comes in a letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which the attorneys general request that DOJ deploy stronger legal tools to combat the surge of foreign-based online gaming platforms operating outside the bounds of state and federal law.

“If you’re not licensed in Louisiana, then it’s illegal gaming,” Murrill said in a statement. “I joined my fellow attorneys general in requesting assistance from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to address the rampant spread of offshore gaming operations across our country.”

According to the letter, these platforms are often run by large, unlicensed companies headquartered overseas. They frequently fail to verify users’ ages, operate without consumer protections, ignore state boundaries, and evade taxation.

As a result, the attorneys general warn that vulnerable populations — including youth and problem gamblers — are exposed to fraudulent and addictive gaming environments without any oversight.

The coalition highlighted the massive scale of the issue, citing estimates that the illegal online gaming market now exceeds $400 billion annually and results in over $4 billion in lost tax revenue for states each year.

The letter also links illegal gambling platforms to broader criminal conduct, including money laundering and human trafficking.

Despite the size of the problem, enforcement actions by the DOJ have been “extremely limited” since 2013, the attorneys general note. They call on the department to:

• Pursue injunctive relief under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to block access to illegal websites and payment processing tools;

• Seize servers, domains, and assets linked to illegal gaming operations;

• Coordinate with state governments, banks, and credit card companies to cut off the financial infrastructure supporting these enterprises.

The letter references successful DOJ actions in unrelated cybercrime cases as a blueprint for a broader crackdown. It also notes that Visa and Mastercard have expressed willingness to work with law enforcement to block unlawful gambling transactions.