WASHINGTON — Despite a government shutdown, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Oct. 7, confirmed a group of Trump administration nominees to various posts, including two North Dakotans.

Judge Nicholas Chase and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler were approved Tuesday afternoon by a 51-47 "en bloc" vote, which went forward after Republican leaders changed Senate rules last month in order to speed up the confirmation process for Trump nominees. Chase will be the next U.S. attorney for the District of North Dakota, while Baesler will be assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education for the Education Department.

An East Central District judge since 2022, Chase, 57, previously served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for 20 years, leading the office's appellate, white-col

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