In turn, Republicans allowed Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to confirm with a simple voice vote more than 60 executive-branch appointees in agencies across the administration.

The deal cleared out a backlog of Obama’s nominees, including Obama’s picks for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s board, Thomas Hoenig and Martin J. Gruenberg, two members of the Federal Trade Commission, and ambassadors to Libya, Haiti and Uruguay.

“This is the result of a successful discussion among the majority leader, the White House and myself. …” McConnell said on the Senate floor, remarks echoed by Reid. “I want to say to my friend, the majority leader, this is the way we ought to be conducting business here. I think it was a successful negotiation.”