Amber Phillips, The Washington Post (c) 2024
President-elect Donald Trump is already moving ahead with creating a more powerful presidency than his first one. One of his first moves: Demanding that Republican senators let him decide who runs the government, rather than vote on it.
When a new president takes office, the Senate’s main job is to confirm – or oppose – people the president nominates to serve in key government roles. But Trump told Republican senators who want to be majority leader that they need to step aside when he gets into office so he can unilaterally select his leaders.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that he wants positions filled “IMMEDIATELY!”
What Trump’s asking is technically constitutional, experts say, but would be a stark abdication of powers on the part of the Senate. And it could be just the beginning of Trump’s effort to get what he wants out of a Republican Congress.
Here’s what’s going on.
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There’s a good chance Trump will take office with a Republican Congress
Republicans will retake control of the Senate next year. They may also soon take control of the House (votes are still being counted in a few key races).
Unlike the last time Trump was president, he will not have to contend with much resistance from his own party. Many Republican members of Congress who opposed him have left – either of their own volition or were voted out.
Republicans will hold leadership elections this week to decide the next Senate majority leader. Trump’s demand for recess appointments shows that he wants a Senate leader who’s willing to do his bidding.
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He’s telling senators he can appoint people without their input
Trump, in his post on Sunday, argued that the Senate takes too long to confirm nominees.
But the Constitution says that presidents nominate people for top government roles, and it’s the Senate’s job is to confirm or reject them.
Though it does specify a workaround that presidents in both parties have used over the years: When the Senate is in recess, or on break, the president can appoint his or her own picks.
But there are limits to this.
After President Barack Obama tried it in 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the recess appointments exceeded his constitutional authority. Now, the Senate must be on recess for at least 10 days before a president can make recess appointments.
But what Trump is suggesting is different, experts said. Rather than take advantage of breaks in their legislating schedule, Trump is asking senators to willingly step aside.
“What Trump is essentially doing is telling the Senate to give up one of its core constitutional roles,” said Sarah Binder, a constitutional expert at George Washington University. “The Senate’s role of advice and consent was to be a check on who the president wants to put in these positions.”
In 2020, Trump threatened to force Congress to adjourn to make appointments without Senate approval.
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Trump’s nominees would probably get through the Senate, though
A president’s nominees need a majority vote in the Senate. Republicans will enter Congress next year with 53 Senate seats.
So why is Trump pushing for recess appointments? Experts say it might be to send a message to Republicans in Congress: It’s Trump’s show, and they’ll have little-to-no input on what he wants to do these next four years.
“He’s trying to run roughshod over the caucus,” said Jim Manley, who served as an aide to the late Harry M. Reid, the former Democratic Senate majority leader.
Another option: Trump wants to pick leaders who wouldn’t get a majority vote in a Republican Senate. A lot of Trump’s policies – and the people who could carry them out – may not be popular.
Whether senators who are up for reelection in two years would face more backlash for confirming Trump’s nominees who end up being unpopular – or for bending to Trump’s will in such a way that they’re seen as not doing their job – would remain to be seen.
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What happens next
Several Republican senators have said they’re open to Trump’s plan to bypass the nomination process.
That’s rare. Josh Chafetz, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University, said members of Congress are usually loathe to give up their constitutional power, even for presidents of the same party. Sometimes Congress has stayed in office in what’s known as a perfunctory “pro forma” session, rather than recess in full, to prevent presidents from installing appointees.
This time, all three leading Republican contenders for the Senate majority leader seem open to it. “100% agree,” Sen. Rick Scott (Florida) replied to Trump on social media. “I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.” Sen. John Thune (South Dakota) told Fox News Digital that “all options are on the table.” And Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) said on social media that the Constitution “expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.”
Chafetz said he can’t recall an instance when the Senate recessed specifically to let a president appoint government leaders.
If Trump succeeds, he could use the same tactic to install judges – or even Supreme Court justices – without Senate approval. Or he could try to pressure Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster, so his agenda can more easily sail through. And at the same time, Trump will almost certainly try to push the bounds of what he can issue by executive order, rather than go through Congress, Chafetz and other experts predict.