U.S. Senate President pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the highest-ranking member of the GOP-led Senate, announced on Aug. 1 that he is blocking three nominations made by President Donald Trump to positions in the Department of the Treasury.
The nominees blocked are Brian Morrissey Jr., to be the general counsel of the Department of the Treasury; Jonathan McKernan, to be the undersecretary of the treasury for domestic finance; and Francis Brooke, to be assistant secretary of the treasury for international trade and development.
Grassley has placed a hold on each of the nominations, which is a courtesy afforded to any senator that allows them to temporarily stop all consideration of the nominee, although it may be overridden by a majority of senators on a motion to proceed.
The senator placed the holds because of his uncertainty about a separate matter, namely, the regulations concerning the end of wind and solar tax credits repealed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a budget bill signed by Trump on July 4. In remarks on the Senate floor announcing his holds, Grassley did not indicate that the nominees’ qualifications were in question.
“Until I can be certain that such rules and regulations adhere to the law and congressional intent, I intend to continue to object to the consideration of these Treasury nominees,” Grassley said.
He noted that the department was expected to “issue rules and regulations implementing the agreed-upon phase-out of the wind and solar credits by August 18, 2025,” marking a potential end date for the hold.
The Senate has adjourned for its planned summer recess until Sept. 2, meaning that Grassley’s hold could be lifted before the Senate is in a position to act on the nominations.
The hold marks a rare moment whereby a senior member of the Senate majority is blocking nominations made by a U.S. president from his own party.
Grassley is one of the senior-most members of Congress and the U.S. government. He is the president pro tempore of the Senate, a constitutional office usually held by the longest-serving senator from the majority party, which gives him the power to chair the Senate’s day-to-day proceedings and places him third in the U.S. Presidential line of succession. He is also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees criminal justice, national security, immigration, federal court nominations, and many other policies.
Grassley, age 91, is also the dean of the U.S. Senate, having joined the body in 1981. Grassley’s congressional career spans more than 50 years—beginning his career as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 3, 1975, when President Gerald Ford was in office.
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