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Donald Trump has only been president for 19 days, but already he is complaining that it's taking longer to confirm his full cabinet that any other in history, even though those for his predecessors weren't fully in place for months.
Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that it is a “disgrace” that his “full Cabinet is still not in place” and that the delay is the longest “in the history of our country.”
The overall pace of getting a cabinet has been slower for Trump than other recent presidents, and he had fewer nominees confirmed on inauguration day than Obama, George W. Bush, or Clinton, according to the Washington Post. But it's actually months too early to say if Trump really is facing the longest delay in US history before getting a full cabinet.
After President Obama took office in January 2009, for example, Hilda Solis wasn't confirmed as Labor Secretary until February 24 — more than a month after inauguration day.
Other nominees took even longer. After two other nominees withdrew their names, Gary Locke finally became Obama's secretary of commerce on March 24, 2009. And Kathleen Sebelius became Health and Human Services secretary on April 28, 2009, after Tom Daschle, Obama's first choice, pulled out.
During Bill Clinton's presidency, Janet Reno wasn't confirmed as attorney general until March 11. In 1989, George H.W. Bush had four cabinet nominees who weren't confirmed until March.
The reasons for the delays varied, with some nominees withdrawing their names over various conflicts. One of Bush's nominees was actually voted down by the Senate — a fate Trump's nominees are unlikely to face with a Republican controlled congress. Still, Democratic senators, such as Elizabeth Warren, have been pushing to stall some of Trump's nominees for as long as possible.
Still, whatever the cause — which Trump did not discuss or mention on Twitter — multiple other presidents also did not have full cabinets in place 19 days into their first terms.
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