WASHINGTON (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump tries to build a more powerful presidency than in his first term, he is picking loyalists for his Cabinet and considering a tool known as recess appointments to cut even some of the Senate confirmations to skip the elections. most powerful positions in the US government.
Trump demanded this weekend that Republican leaders in the Senate, which will have a majority in the House next year, agree to allow recess appointments. It would represent a significant shift in power away from the Senate, but Trump returns to Washington with almost full support from his party, including the more traditional Republicans who still hold sway in the House.
Their commitment, however, is being tested as Trump has turned to picking people outside the Republican Party mainstream, such as former Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii for top positions.
It quickly became clear on Wednesday that figures like Gaetz, who Trump announced as his pick for attorney general, could struggle to gain the support of the Senate majority, even though Republicans will enjoy a 53-seat majority. But that may not matter if Trump can take advantage of recess agreements.
How do break agreements work?
The Senate, as established by the U.S. Constitution, plays an important role in confirming – or removing – high-level officials, such as cabinet positions, judges and ambassadors. It is part of the government’s checks and balances that ensure the president cannot rule unilaterally. However, there is a clause in the Constitution that allows presidents to serve their terms while the Senate is in recess.
During the country’s early history, Congress took months-long breaks from Washington, and presidents could use recess appointments to avoid leaving an important job unfilled. But more recently, the process of recess appointments has been at the center of partisan battles with the president.
President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments and President George W. Bush made 171, although neither used the process for top-level Cabinet positions, according to the Congressional Research Service. President Barack Obama tried to continue the practice, using it 32 times, but a 2014 Supreme Court ruling curtailed the president’s power to make recess appointments.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Senate must pause or adjourn for 10 days before a president can make unilateral appointments. That has resulted in a practice where the Senate — even during weeks-long breaks from Washington — still holds pro forma sessions in which one senator opens and closes the chamber, but no legislative business is conducted.
The House also has some power over recess appointments by refusing to adjourn the Senate.
Why is Trump demanding recess agreements?
Trump envisions becoming a president far stronger and more powerful than anyone before him.
While still president in 2020, Trump threatened to use recess appointments after Democrats blocked the Senate from confirming his nominees. He threatened to use a presidential power in the Constitution to adjourn both chambers of Congress on “extraordinary occasions” and when there is disagreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate over the adjournment.
If Trump becomes president again next year, he will work with Republicans who have a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate and promise to support his agenda. But the demand for recess appointments allows Trump to expand his political power and potentially push through even the most controversial choices for his administration.
Sen. John Thune, who was elected this week as the next Senate majority leader, vows to “maintain an aggressive schedule until his nominees are confirmed.” Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, is also not taking the recess agreements off the table.
In order for Trump to make the appointments, Republican senators would have to pass a postponement motion with a simple majority vote, although Democrats would likely do everything in their power to prevent this. It is also not clear whether such a move would be fully supported by Republican senators.
Would break agreements work?
It’s not clear. Gaetz and Gabbard’s announcements this week brought the Senate to life, with some Republican senators recalling the importance of their “advise and consent” role in choosing the president’s Cabinet.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who suggested just days earlier that he might be open to making recess appointments as he unsuccessfully ran for Senate Majority Leader, told reporters on Thursday: “Obviously I don’t think we can ignore the responsibilities of the Having to bypass the Senate. but I think it’s premature to talk about recess appointments now.
Yet there are few, if any, Republicans left who dare to openly defy Trump. Republican senators plan to begin hearings on Trump’s Cabinet nominees once the new Congress begins on January 3.
