(LifeSiteNews) — Senate Democrats blocked a move to expedite the confirmation of Brian Burch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for US Ambassador to the Holy See, in a Tuesday vote.
Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) shared the news on the heels of the obstruction, slamming the decision as a “symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
A symptom of TDS now includes Democrats blocking the U.S. Ambassador to The Vatican in time for the Pope’s installation this weekend.
Sadly, I don’t think they’ve hit rock bottom yet. pic.twitter.com/q7PalHk6uI
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) May 13, 2025
“But the truth is this is really about Trump Derangement Syndrome. The truth is this is about the Democrats not coming to grips about…you know, getting smoked in November because they don’t have a message,” said Schmitt on the Senate floor Tuesday.
“So what are they grasping at? All these ridiculous things so somebody can say they’re the Chief Resistor. I just never thought I’d see a day that the ‘Resistance’ would mean holding up the Ambassador to the Holy See to be there for the installation of the Pope. But here’s where we are: total brokenness from the other side.”
If you want to know how broken Senate Democrats are they just blocked the confirmation of the Ambassador to the Vatican. Insane. pic.twitter.com/MHK9K67MoJ
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) May 13, 2025
READ: Trump nominates CatholicVote founder Brian Burch as US Ambassador to the Holy See
Schmitt later noted that he and Senate Republicans had asked for “unanimous consent” to have Burch approved as Ambassador to the Vatican in time for the installation of Pope Leo XIV this weekend.
Instead of granting this request, the Democrats put a blanket hold on Burch’s confirmation, as Schmitt noted on the Senate floor.
“The Democrats objected to that. They’re objecting to everything. They’re totally broken. They don’t stand for anything except obstructionism and trying to get headlines over one ridiculous thing after another,” he said.
“We have not seen an effort like this by the minority party to be obstructionists in 50 years. Not since the Ford administration has it taken this kind of effort for every single nominee,” Schmitt lamented.
READ: Leo XIV’s election invites Americans to revisit Leo XIII’s teachings on Church and state
Brian Burch is the the President and Co-founder of Catholic Vote, a lay-led organization that seeks to “inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.”
During his Senate Confirmation hearing in April, Burch defended cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and received scathing criticism from U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
She pointed out that the Catholic Church’s charitable arm, Caritas, had condemned the slashing of USAID as a decision fatal to “millions of people” and which would “condemn” many more to “dehumanizing poverty.”
Burch said he supported the Trump administration’s decision to cut aid toward areas “not aligned with U.S. interests,” and instead focus foreign aid “on places that would make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”
READ: Trump nominates CatholicVote founder Brian Burch as US Ambassador to the Holy See