Breaking: The ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
President-elect Donald Trump has wasted no time in appointing his Cabinet members since his victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Some of those appointments have raised brows and questions about their chances to survive a potential confirmation battle in the Senate.
But should his nominees stall, Trump has already identified a workaround: recess appointments.
The usual confirmation process, outlined by Article II of the Constitution, gives the Senate the power to approve or reject the president’s nominees for certain appointments.
The same article empowers the president to fill vacancies while the Senate is in recess, but there are terms and conditions.
Related Story
Recess appointees can serve only until the end of the Senate’s next session, or a maximum of close to two years. The Supreme Court has also ruled that such appointments can only be made during Senate recesses of at least 10 days.
In the nation’s early years, monthslong recesses were common. Recess appointments allowed the president to ensure continuity of government during long absences by filling important roles.
More recently, presidents have used recess appointments to bypass delays in the Senate confirmation process.
President Barack Obama was the last president to use the tool of recess appointments. He filled 32 positions in that fashion before he was sued over three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.
President Bill Clinton likewise made 139 recess appointments and President George W. Bush made 171, according to the Congressional Research Service. But the tool has rarely been used to fill high-level Cabinet positions, with the most recent example being Clinton’s 1996 appointment of Mickey Kantor as commerce secretary.
Historically, only nine Cabinet nominations have been rejected by the Senate. Still, it is not uncommon for members to use legislative tactics to slow the confirmation process down, and at least two of Trump’s picks are facing uphill battles.
Conservative firebrand and former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) selection for attorney general drew shocked reactions from those on both sides of the political aisle. And the nomination of vaccine skeptic and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services likewise turned heads.
Republicans are projected to hold a 53–47 majority in the Senate next year. That leaves room for just three Republican defections, assuming that the chamber’s Democrats and independents all vote against Trump’s nominees.
If the president-elect’s nominees fail to garner the necessary majority, a strategic Senate recess could allow him to install his Cabinet anyway. But for that to happen, majorities in both the Senate and House would need to approve a recess.
That could pose a problem for Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the incoming Senate majority leader, who has promised a rigorous confirmation schedule.
“The same Republicans ... that might have a problem voting for somebody under regular order probably also have a problem voting to put the Senate into recess,” Thune told Fox News on Nov. 14. “You have to have concurrence from the House. There’s a process.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has indicated his willingness to consider the use of recess appointments, though he has also expressed sympathy for arguments against it.
“I’ve demonstrated over and over that we will have fidelity to our oath, which is to uphold the Constitution, so we evaluate all these things very carefully,” Johnson told Fox News on Nov. 17.
But with the GOP looking set to hold a slim majority in the House, it would only take a few Republicans to vote with all Democrats against going into recess. That would thwart Trump’s plans for recess appointments.
—Samantha Flom
BOOKMARKS
The ethics report for former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will not be released ahead of his confirmation as attorney general, the House Ethics Committee has decided. Members of the committee were divided about its release, while Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was totally opposed, saying “that is not the way we do things in the House.”
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) has narrowly won her race for Congress, maintaining a seat held by Democrats since 1983. Kaptur defeated GOP state Rep. Derek Merrin 48.3 percent to 47.6 percent, which means the Republican majority in the House will be one seat slimmer.
The U.S. has vetoed a U.N. resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent cease-fire” in Gaza. U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood said that such a deal would only be acceptable if Hamas agreed to immediately release its hostages.
Speaker Mike Johnson announced that ”restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” in House and Capitol office buildings, noting that member offices each have a private bathroom, and that there are numerous unisex facilities in the Capitol. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) had announced she would introduce a bill requiring the policy on all federal property after male-to-female transgender Sarah McBride (D-Del.) was elected to the House in November.
The Texas General Land Office has offered 1,400 acres of land on which to build deportation facilities for illegal immigrants. Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham made the offer to President-elect-Donald Trump in a Nov. 19 letter, but he has not publicly responded.
President Joe Biden made a concession to the Ukraine military, allowing the use of anti-personnel landmines—designed to become inactive after a certain period—in its war against Russia. Although the mines automatically deactivate after a time, Ukraine has committed not to use them in civilian areas in order to avoid unwanted casualties.
—Stacy Robinson
