How Trump Could Steamroll Congress—and His Own Party—on Matt Gaetz
Senate leadership seems all mixed up about giving Donald Trump the power to straight up bypass Congress and appoint Matt Gaetz as his attorney general. Ahead of Trump’s recent Cabinet picks (a crew of loyalists so unqualified it feels more like trolling than anything else), the president-elect laid out his shady plan to get them appointed without Senate approval. “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 wrote Sunday on X. Unlike typical official appointments, recess appointments don’t require a Senate vote, and allow the president to unilaterally decide who will fill a role. The appointment wouldn’t be permanent; it might only last until the end of that session, which is no more than two years. At the end of that time, the president could just renominate their pick and appoint them again. This would be particularly useful in the case of Gaetz, an antagonistic MAGA acolyte currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct, among a slate of other charges. CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju asked several top Republicans whether they actually supported Trump’s request for recess appointments. Florida Senator Rick Scott, a staunch Trump ally, said that he supported Trump’s request for recess appointments. “Well I believe in recess appointments, so I was very clear,” said Scott. “And I think John Cornyn and John Thune are committed to recess appointments.”That would have been all well and good, if Scott had won his bid to become the Senate majority leader earlier this week. But he didn’t, Thune did. And it’s not clear that Thune or Cornyn agree with Scott at all. “Well that’s another whole issue, obviously I don’t think we should be circumventing the Senate’s responsibilities, but I think it’s premature to be talking about recess appointments right now,” Cornyn replied, when asked about possibly allowing recess appointments.Scott claimed that he, Thune, and Cornyn had agreed on recess appointments ahead of the Senate GOP election Tuesday. Cornyn said that no such discussion had taken place. Cornyn added that “there should not be any limitation” on the Senate’s investigation into Gaetz. Separately, he told ABC’s Rachel Scott that he “absolutely” wanted to see the ethics report on Gaetz. As for Thune, he claimed that whether or not he would allow Trump to make recess appointments hadn’t even crossed his mind. “I haven’t given that any thought yet,” Thune added. “I just know that the nomination isn’t formalized yet, but when it is, we’ll process it in the way we typically do and provide our advise and consent.”On Wednesday, Thune signaled that he hoped to put nominees through standard confirmation hearings. “I’m willing to grind through it and do it the old-fashioned way,” Thune told South Dakota reporters.Another member of Republican Senate leadership, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, who became vice chair of the Senate GOP Policy Committee Tuesday, also pushed back on Trump’s request for recess appointments. “I think the Supreme Court would even step in on those roles,” Lankford said, adding that he wouldn’t favor recess appointments.
Senate leadership seems all mixed up about giving Donald Trump the power to straight up bypass Congress and appoint Matt Gaetz as his attorney general.
Ahead of Trump’s recent Cabinet picks (a crew of loyalists so unqualified it feels more like trolling than anything else), the president-elect laid out his shady plan to get them appointed without Senate approval.
“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 wrote Sunday on X.
Unlike typical official appointments, recess appointments don’t require a Senate vote, and allow the president to unilaterally decide who will fill a role. The appointment wouldn’t be permanent; it might only last until the end of that session, which is no more than two years. At the end of that time, the president could just renominate their pick and appoint them again.
This would be particularly useful in the case of Gaetz, an antagonistic MAGA acolyte currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct, among a slate of other charges.
CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju asked several top Republicans whether they actually supported Trump’s request for recess appointments.
Florida Senator Rick Scott, a staunch Trump ally, said that he supported Trump’s request for recess appointments. “Well I believe in recess appointments, so I was very clear,” said Scott. “And I think John Cornyn and John Thune are committed to recess appointments.”
That would have been all well and good, if Scott had won his bid to become the Senate majority leader earlier this week. But he didn’t, Thune did. And it’s not clear that Thune or Cornyn agree with Scott at all.
“Well that’s another whole issue, obviously I don’t think we should be circumventing the Senate’s responsibilities, but I think it’s premature to be talking about recess appointments right now,” Cornyn replied, when asked about possibly allowing recess appointments.
Scott claimed that he, Thune, and Cornyn had agreed on recess appointments ahead of the Senate GOP election Tuesday. Cornyn said that no such discussion had taken place.
Cornyn added that “there should not be any limitation” on the Senate’s investigation into Gaetz. Separately, he told ABC’s Rachel Scott that he “absolutely” wanted to see the ethics report on Gaetz.
As for Thune, he claimed that whether or not he would allow Trump to make recess appointments hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“I haven’t given that any thought yet,” Thune added. “I just know that the nomination isn’t formalized yet, but when it is, we’ll process it in the way we typically do and provide our advise and consent.”
On Wednesday, Thune signaled that he hoped to put nominees through standard confirmation hearings. “I’m willing to grind through it and do it the old-fashioned way,” Thune told South Dakota reporters.
Another member of Republican Senate leadership, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, who became vice chair of the Senate GOP Policy Committee Tuesday, also pushed back on Trump’s request for recess appointments.
“I think the Supreme Court would even step in on those roles,” Lankford said, adding that he wouldn’t favor recess appointments.
