Democrats should halt the transition in its tracks.

[Igel]

6. A senator can hold up nominations.

At least some. Those that the leader wants approved for convenience' sake by "unanimous consent." Why? Because if one person says he'll vote "no" then consent isn't unanimous. Holds can be public or secret, which is squirrelly but there you go.

If Hegseth's nomination is up for a vote, then a senatorial hold would require an actual vote. Now, if you have 1,000 nominations to vote on, each vote might well take an hour or more so it's all unanimous consent. Bam. You've just told the leader you, li'l ol' you, will cause the Senate to be tied up for 1000 hours or more. If there's a 40 hour work week, that's 25 weeks. Less of a concern for a single nominee. Esp. one that's certainly *not* going to be approved by unanimous consent.

If a hold is placed on a bill or nominee, then there has to be a cloture vote to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. (Nominee? Not sure. I think it's 51/100 for judicial nominees, don't know if that's for *all* nominees.)

One senator cannot "stop anything he wants." That's a misgeneralization.