The Senate confirmed US ambassadors to Kuwait and Qatar on Thursday, as top Democrats fumed that lawmakers are slow-walking dozens more of President Barack Obama's nominations.

Career diplomats Douglas Silliman and Dana Smith were confirmed as the new envoys to Kuwait and Qatar, respectively.

Smith's confirmation process took a relatively quick two months, but Silliman's lasted seven months, a length of time that has become more the rule than the exception in a thoroughly gridlocked Senate.