Conservatives claim victory after thwarting Schumer's last-minute attempt to confirm key agency head.

Conservatives and Republicans on social media are celebrating after Senate Democrats were unable to prevent the re-appointment of NLRB chair Lauren McFerran in a last-minute vote.

The confirmation of McFerran, a President Biden pick, to a new five-year term was blocked by the Senate, with Democrats losing control of the influential agency until at least 2026. Independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voted against it.

Conservatives rejoiced over the vote, which they had long opposed, arguing that President-elect Trump should make the selection following his November election victory.

"President Trump's pro-worker policies have been successful, so why should we allow Biden to appoint more NLRB nominees?" Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in a statement to Planet Chronicle Digital. "I'm glad we didn't, and I'm excited to work with President Trump to support policies and nominees that benefit working families and all Americans."

According to Tom Hebert, director of competition and regulatory policy for Americans for Tax Reform, Lauren McFerran's record running the Biden-Harris NLRB has been dismal, with actions that have undermined freelancers, crushed businesses of all sizes, and allowed vulgar union harassment of American workers.

"Schumer attempted to gain control of the Trump-Vance NLRB by pushing McFerran's renomination through the Senate, assuming Republican absences. However, Republicans appeared and thwarted Schumer's plan, resulting in the Trump-Vance NLRB remaining under the control of pro-worker Republicans."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., expressed his satisfaction with the Senate's rejection of Democrats' partisan effort to hinder President Trump's selection of NLRB nominees and implementation of a pro-America, pro-worker agenda, as mandated by the American people.

""Senate Republicans and independent thinkers @SenateGOP, @SenatorSinema, and @Sen_JoeManchin are doing outstanding work. Another antagonist of @elonmusk and free speech has collapsed, paving the way for @realDonaldTrump to fix harmful policies. Great job!" Independent Women's Voice senior policy analyst Carrie Sheffield posted on X."

Since August, McFerran's nomination has been waiting for consideration, and a point of frustration for Republicans was that Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernie Sanders denied a request from Cassidy to hold a public hearing on McFerran before advancing her.

In 2021, the NLRB ordered Tesla to direct Musk to delete a tweet that harmed a unionization effort at Tesla, but this decision was later reversed by the U.S. Appeals Court.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Space X, stated on X that the current administration is taking steps to hinder government efficiency, but the inevitability of @DOGE cannot be stopped.

Unlike most similar agencies, the NLRB has a unique feature in that its members cannot be removed by the president at will based solely on policy goals or changing administrations.

According to the NLRB website, the President has the power to remove any member of the Board if they are found to have neglected their duties or engaged in malfeasance while in office, but not for any other reason.

Democrats blocked the confirmation of Republican NLRB nominee Joshua Ditelberg by pulling the cloture vote after the McFerran vote, allowing Trump to fill two seats if no changes occur before inauguration day.

On Monday, Schumer filed cloture on McFerran's nomination, setting up a vote on Wednesday. In his floor remarks, the New York Democrat did not acknowledge the lame-duck nature of the vote, stating, "If you truly care about working families, if you care about fixing income inequality in America, then you should be in favor of advancing today’s NLRB nominees. You can't say you are for working families, then go and vote 'no' today, because the NLRB protects workers from mistreatment on the job and from overreaching employers."

Schumer stated that it was deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that the highly qualified nominee, with a proven track record of protecting worker rights, did not receive the necessary votes.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this report.