WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees in a single vote on Thursday after changing decades-old rules earlier this week allowing Republicans to package nominations together to expedite their appointments.

Senators voted along party lines to approve the bloc of nominations, the first of many that are expected to help clear the backlog of nominees that Democrats have created in protest of Trump’s policies. The clustered nominee process will help Republicans greenlight dozens of Trump’s candidates at a record pace, saving weeks of votes and debate time.

“If the Senate had continued at the pace that we’ve been proceeding at through the month of July there would still be hundreds of empty desks in the executive branch on President Trump’s last day in office i

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