WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is making demands of the next Senate Republican leader ahead of this week’s closed-door elections, writing on social media that whoever is chosen should leave the chamber early next year so he can appoint whomever he wants without having to having to go through the confirmation process.
“Any Republican senator seeking the coveted DRIVER position in the United States Senate must agree to nominations during (Senate!) recesses, without which we will not be able to get nominees confirmed in a timely manner” – Trump he wrote. “Sometimes voting can take two years or longer. This is what they did four years ago and we cannot allow it to happen again.”
If the Senate had a longer recess after the Jan. 20 inauguration, it would have given Trump the freedom to make nominations to top cabinet positions, including defense secretary and Treasury secretary, without having to support centrist GOP lawmakers. Senate Republicans are on track to gain a 53-seat majority, and one race in Arizona is still undecided.
Texas Senator John Cornyn, Florida Senator Rick Scott and South Dakota Senator John Thune – who are run for majority leader — everyone quickly adapted to their own social media posts about so-called halftime meetings.
“It is unacceptable for the Senate Ds to block President @realDonaldTrump’s nominations,” Cornyn wrote on social media. “If this happens, we will continue the session, including on weekends, until they subside. Moreover, the Constitution expressly grants the President the power to make appointments during recesses.
“Article II, paragraph 2 section 3: The President shall have the power to fill any vacancies which may occur during the adjournment of the Senate by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session.”
Thune wrote: “We must act quickly and decisively to fill the presidential nominees as quickly as possible and all options are being considered to make this happen, including a recess appointment. We cannot allow Schumer and the Senate to block the will of the American people.” Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, is the Senate majority leader.
Scott commented on Trump’s original post, stating that he agreed with it “100%”
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that your nominations are accepted as quickly as possible,” Scott said.
Bypassing the Senate’s advice and powers would likely mean no committee hearings for nominees nominated during the break, preventing them from answering lawmakers’ questions about their experience and policy goals.
It would also prevent senators from making hard majority votes on potentially controversial Trump nominees.
Trump has just started announcing who he will pick to fill positions in his next administration, listing “border tsar,” ambassador to the UN and the EPA administrator as of Monday afternoon.
Supreme Court ruling
The Senate has for years avoided recesses of more than three days, under both Republican and Democratic majorities.
Instead, when the Senate leaves the Capitol for a few weeks, the chamber holds so-called pro forma sessions every three days to prevent recess calls. They usually last only a few minutes and usually do not cover any legislative issues.
The pro forma meetings stem in part from a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in June 2014 that said the president can fill vacancies during a congressional recess if it lasts longer than 10 days.
“In light of historical practice, a break of more than three days but less than 10 days is presumptively too short to be covered by the clause,” the judges said. he wrote in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning.
The case began after then-President Barack Obama made three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in 2012, even though the Democratic-controlled Senate held pro forma sessions every few days.
Opposition to Obama’s recess nomination
Republicans in Congress, including Thune and Cornyn, praised the Supreme Court’s decision at the time, sharply criticizing Obama for trying to bypass the Senate.
Thune released written declarationclaiming that the Supreme Court prevented Obama from attempting to “violate the separation of powers.”
“When the president failed to secure the Senate nomination, he chose to ignore the law and attempt to circumvent Congress,” Thune wrote. “I am glad that the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the president’s attempt to circumvent the Constitution. “Today’s decision reinforces the fact that Congress, not the president, has the authority to set its own rules.”
Cornyn criticized Obama for taking “unilateral actions” that gave “the impression that he doesn’t care what Congress says.”
“In fact, this morning the Supreme Court rebuked the President for illegally calling a recess — unconstitutional,” Cornyn said during a speech on the floor, according to Congress record.
Scott was not a member of Congress when the Supreme Court issued its ruling.
Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley then praised the Supreme Court’s “decision to overturn President Obama’s illegal recess appointments.”
“Article II, paragraph “Section 2 of the Constitution provides only two ways for the President to appoint certain officers: first, it provides that the President shall appoint the various officers and, with the advice of the Senate, appoint the various officers,” Grassley said. “Second, it allows the President to make temporary appointments in the event of a vacancy in one of these offices during the Senate recess.”
During Trump’s first term, Republican senators held pro forma sessions to avoid meeting interruptions and give the chamber time to vet the people Trump wanted to run some of the nation’s most powerful institutions, including the Defense Department.
Any recess appointments Trump might make in the future will expire at the end of the “next session” of the Senate, meaning he would have to go through the entire process all over again within two years, according to an analyst. report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
The elections are scheduled for Wednesday
Senate Republicans will hold a secret leadership vote on Wednesday behind closed doors to choose up-to-date colleagues for top positions.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has held the title of Republican Party leader since 2007, chose not to continue in that role when the up-to-date Congress begins, leading to a three-way race between Cornyn, Scott and Thune.
Whoever Republicans choose as their next leader, along with other members of the leadership team, will play a significant role in setting the Senate agenda for the next two years and setting the tone for the next Trump administration.
They will also have to broker deals with Democrats on must-see legislation like the annual government funding bills and the annual defense policy bill.
John Barrasso of Wyoming is running unopposed for the whip position currently held by Thune and formerly by Cornyn.
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton and Joni Ernst of Iowa they compete to assume the third leadership position of conference president, currently held by Barrasso.
Republicans will also choose the chairman of the Policy Committee, the conference vice chairman and the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who will round out the six-member Senate leadership team.
Last updated at 16:06, November 11, 2024
