(Headline USA) President-elect Donald Trump urged the incoming Republican-led Senate to empower him to appoint some nominees without a Senate vote amid fears that Democrats would use the filibuster, which they previously tried to eliminate, in order to derail his administration by delaying Cabinet appointments.
Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida are running in a secret ballot election Wednesday to lead the GOP conference and replace longtime GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who is stepping aside from the job after almost two decades.
All three have courted Trump’s support in the race, vying to show who is the closest to the president-elect as they campaign to become majority leader.
Trump has not endorsed in the race, but on Sunday he made clear that he expects the new leader to go around regular Senate order, if necessary, to allow him to fill his Cabinet quickly.
In a statement on X and Truth Social, Trump said that the next leader “must agree” to allow him to make appointments when the chamber is on recess, bypassing a confirmation vote.
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump posted, adding that positions should be filled “IMMEDIATELY!”
The Senate has not allowed presidents to make so-called recess appointments since a 2014 Supreme Court ruling limited the president’s power to do so. Instead, the Senate has held brief “pro-forma” sessions when it is out of town for more than 10 days so that a president cannot take advantage of the absence and start filling posts that have not been confirmed.
But with Trump’s approval paramount in the race, all three candidates quickly suggested that they might be willing to reconsider the practice.
Scott replied to Trump, “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.”
100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible. https://t.co/GlrHx2zJXh
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) November 10, 2024
They must “quickly and decisively” act to get nominees in place and that “all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,” Thune said in a statement.
We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s nominees in place as soon as possible, & all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments. We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people.https://t.co/h6gDmjhbqn
— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) November 10, 2024
Cornyn said that Democrats attempting to gum up the works of the new administration—which received a clear mandate from the American people—would only make the Senate’s job more painful.
“It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump’s cabinet appointments,” he said. “If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent.”
He also noted that recess appointments are allowed under the Constitution.
It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump ‘s cabinet appointments. If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent. Additionally, the Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.…
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) November 10, 2024
The social media exchange on Sunday became a first test for the three candidates since Trump was decisively elected last week to a second term.
Conservatives—including prominent pundit Tucker Carlson—have warned that only Scott is truly loyal to Trump’s agenda, although Thune appeared to be the favorite to succeed McConnell.
Red-pilled liberal Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likewise warned that Thune and Cornyn might put other priorities ahead of the “America First” policies that Trump was elected to effect.
Without Rick Scott, the entire Trump reform agenda wobbly.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 10, 2024
Trump’s relationship with Congress—especially the advice and consent role afforded to the Senate when it comes to nominations—was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at the unprecedented resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers.
Traditionally, senators have allowed presidents to make their selections swiftly in the spirit of bipartisanship and government efficiency. However, Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” triggered the Trump Derangement Syndrome of many in the federal bureaucracy, justifying the their minds the decision to violate political norms.
With Trump now entering a second term emboldened by his sweeping election victory, he is already signaling that he expects Senate Republicans, and by extension, their new leader, to fall in line behind his Cabinet selections.
Trump also posted on Sunday that the Senate should not approve any judges in the weeks before Republicans take power next year—a more difficult demand to fulfill as Democrats will control the floor, and hold the majority of votes, until the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. Trump posted that “Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.”
Senators who are close to Trump, such as Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have endorsed Scott, as have tech mogul Elon Musk and other people who have Trump’s ear.
“We have to be the change,” Scott said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures. “That’s what Donald Trump got elected to do, to be the change.”
All three candidates are promising that they will be more open and transparent than McConnell was and that they would give senators more power to get their priorities to the floor.
They have also tried to make clear that they would have a much different relationship with Trump than McConnell, who once called the former president a “despicable human being” behind closed doors.
As the Senate haggles over how to fill Trump’s Cabinet, many of his allies are campaigning for the nominations. Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said on ABC’s This Week that there are “a couple of great options on the table.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2019, said on CBS’s Face the Nation that he would advance “the positions that President Trump has articulated,” noting that one of his greatest honors was to represent the Trump administration overseas.
“I’ll do that in whatever role necessary,” said Hagerty, who has endorsed Scott in the leadership race.
Trump last week named former campaign adviser Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. On Monday, two other appointments emerged: former ICE chief Tom Homan as his new “border czar,” and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.C., as ambassador to the United Nations.
He has also ruled out two names from his previous administration for top positions.
Trump said Saturday that he would not be inviting Mike Pompeo, his former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA chief, and Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as his U.N. ambassador and challenged him for the GOP nomination.
Pompeo rallied with Trump on the night before Election Day but had previously refused to stand by him on lawfare attacks such as the attempt to charge Trump for mishandling classified documents.
“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country,” Trump posted on his network Truth Social.
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., reposted on X a message by podcaster Dave Smith suggesting to put pressure to “keep all neocons and war hawks out of the Trump administration.”
The “stop Pompeo” movement is great but it’s not enough. Right now we need maximum pressure to keep all neocons and war hawks out of the Trump administration. They have had their time at the table and brought nothing but disaster to the world and this country.
America First:…
— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) November 9, 2024
“The ‘stop Pompeo’ movement is great, but it’s not enough,” Smith posted on X. “America First: screw the war machine!”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
