Presidential nominations raise red flags
in Congress
If only the public could get inside the head of President-elect Donald Trump to see what he’s really thinking.
Perhaps then we could learn more about Trump’s strategy behind a controversial and reportedly unqualified group of Republicans he intends to nominate to top Cabinet posts at the:
- Department of Defense (DOD)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Those who are brave enough to openly oppose Trump on anything can end up risking everything, from a political standpoint. No Republican politician wants to be on the receiving end of the president-elect’s wrath.
Retaliation by Trump often equates with public shaming and humiliation, for starters.
It’s far easier to show Trump fealty instead.
Some think Trump’s nominations for critical Cabinet jobs may result in carrying out questionable orders, even if that means violating the U.S. Constitution.
Bullying Tactics
Trump recently ordered Senate Republicans to allow him to make recess appointments for his nominees to bypass the traditional confirmation process of constitutional checks and balances.
The Senate plays a significant role in determining which of any presidential nominees are approved. And most senators uphold that constitutional responsibility with utter seriousness.
If a majority of Republican senators bend to Trump’s will, that could mean no FBI background checks or Senate public hearings and votes for these controversial nominees:
- Congressman Matt Gaetz for Attorney General (DOJ)
- Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense (DOD)
- Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
- Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)
All these individuals have raised bipartisan concerns over their lack of qualifications to assume such high-level Cabinet jobs.
What was Trump thinking when he decided to nominate this group to some of the most powerful jobs in the U.S. Government?
Loyalty Test
Let’s start with some conventional thinking in Washington political and media circles about what Trump might be thinking:
- First, Trump wants absolute loyalists serving in these critically important positions as mere figure heads and political puppets. He wants them to carry out his will with no questions asked.
It need not matter to Trump if this is the most unqualified group of presidential nominees in U.S. history for top Cabinet positions, as some have alleged.
- Second, this is a big loyalty test for Republican Senators. Trump wants them to grovel at his feet and “kiss the ring.”
This line of thinking postulates that Trump doesn’t really care about these nominees being confirmed by the Senate, as they are easily replaceable by much more qualified loyalists.
The real reason for nominating this group is to find out which Senate Republicans might oppose Trump’s wishes. This leads to next point:
- Third, according to this theory, Trump would seek harsh political revenge to make examples of any Senate Republicans who either vote against his nominees or against his demand to make recess appointments to get them approved automatically.
As part of Trump’s loyalty tests, he would make examples out of any Republican senators who don’t obey his commands, so that others fall in line going forward.
Recess Appointments
Trump has insisted that all Republican senators vote for a process in which the Senate goes on recess which, under constitutional provisions, would allow Trump to appoint his nominees automatically.
That means Trump would make the appointments by presidential fiat and circumvent the traditional Senate process for hearings and votes.
Trump tweeted the following on November 10 via social media platform X (formerly Twitter):
- “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.”
- “Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!”
The new Republican Senate Majority Leader for the next session of Congress will be Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. The 119th Congress is set to be convened on January 3, 2025.
Whether or not most Republican senators will vote to allow recess appointments remains to be seen.
Trump Team Scheme
There’s one last arcane scheme Trump might attempt in order to make recess appointments, if all else fails, as reported by The Washington Post (11/14):
- “Trump team is considering using an obscure constitutional provision that gives the president the power to adjourn Congress if the House and the Senate cannot agree on the timing of an adjournment.”
- “No president has ever used that authority.”
Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution states the following about the president’s executive authority:
- “He may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.”
But conservative constitutional legal scholar Edward Whelan wrote an op-ed warning:
- “This scheme would exploit an obscure and never-before-used provision of the Constitution.”
- “Under this scheme, it appears that the House would adopt a concurrent resolution that provided for the adjournment of both the House and the Senate.”
- “If the Senate didn’t adopt the resolution, Trump would purport to adjourn both houses for at least 10 days (and perhaps much longer).”
- Trump “would then use the resulting intrasession recess to appoint Gaetz and other Cabinet nominees.”
Will Senate Republicans allow Trump to quash their traditional authority over confirming presidential nominations?
The Takeaway
Trump appears to be seeking to ignore the Constitution’s provisions for “checks and balances” here, which is troubling from a bipartisan political perspective.
He’s also seeking to kneecap the Senate’s “advice and consent” role in confirming his nominees.
If Republican senators acquiesce to Trump’s demands it would send an unmistakable signal to all members of Congress — and other Washington powerbrokers — to step aside in challenging Trump, lest they risk heavy political retaliation.
Trump’s end goal appears to be compelling Senate Republicans to pledge fealty to him by approving, without question, all presidential nominations.”
Final Thoughts
Trump may be adhering to the strategy of “realpolitik” based on the words of 16th century Italian statesman and political philosopher, Niccolo Machiavelli, who famously said: “The end justifies the means.”
However, conservative legal scholar Whelan has a suggestion for the Speaker of the House regarding any ploy by Trump to make recess appointments through unorthodox means:
- “Mike Johnson should not be complicit in eviscerating the Senate’s advice-and-consent role.”
- “He should promptly make clear that the House will abide by its usual schedule of recesses and will not attempt to engineer a recess of the Senate.”
Is this a small sign of the political and constitutional acrimony to expect during Trump’s second presidency?
For the sake of American democracy let’s hope not.
PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons (Pictured: President Trump in 2019 with Texas Senators John Coryn and Ted Cruz)
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OMG. All the magas I know have always said Trump adheres to the constitution.
How many Senators will risk loosing
a $174,000/year job to save our country?