MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — U.S. Sen. John Thune said this week that the Senate has made significant progress in confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees, despite what he described as consistent procedural delays throughout the year.

Thune said the Senate typically confirms large groups of presidential nominees at once to streamline the process. This year, however, he said Senate Democrats opposed each nomination individually, prolonging debate and votes.

Thune called the level of resistance “unprecedented,” saying it resembles partisan gridlock. “That’s something else that’s going on here that looks a lot like petty partisanship,” he said. “Democrats and their base still can’t deal with the fact that President Trump won last November. And so they have held up every single one of his nominations in revenge.”

Despite those delays, Thune said the Senate is still expected to approve more than 400 of Trump’s nominees by the end of the year.