By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has said he might install his picks for top administration posts without first winning approval in the U.S. Senate. This would erode the power of Congress and remove a significant check on his authority as president.
HOW IS A CABINET APPROVED?
According to the U.S. Constitution, the Senate and the president share the power of appointing top administration officials. Typically, senators question nominees for Secretary of Defense and other top posts at public hearings before voting on their fitness for office.
Roughly 1,000 government positions require Senate confirmation through a majority vote in the 100-seat chamber.
Most of Trump’s Cabinet picks easily won confirmation during his first 2017-2021 term in office. But the Senate rejected some candidates and others, like Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, were forced to withdraw after it became clear they would not have enough support to win a confirmation vote.
The process has slowed as partisan divisions have deepened. Democratic President Joe Biden’s cabinet appointees took an average of 191 days to win confirmation compared with an average of 85 days for Republican President George W. Bush, according to the Partnership for Public Service, which oversees presidential transitions.
WHAT HAS TRUMP CALLED FOR?
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make “recess appointments,” even though his Republicans will control the chamber next year with at least 52 seats.
He has called for the chamber to adjourn after he takes office in January, which would allow his personnel to take their positions without having to undergo Senate scrutiny.
That would allow boundary-pushing picks like former Representative Matt Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.
HOW DO ‘RECESS APPOINTMENTS’ WORK?
The U.S. Constitution says the president can make recess appointments to fill vacant positions when the Senate is not in session, though officials appointed in this manner can only serve two years at most.
Past presidents have taken advantage of this clause. Democrat Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments, while Bush made 171, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Since 2007, Congress had increasingly used scheduling tricks to prevent this from happening.
Rather than formally adjourning…
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