Johnson doesn't rule out use of recess appointments
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) attends a news conference on the results of the 2024 election outside of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 12. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson said "there may be a function" to facilitate the use of recess appointments to speed up the confirmation of President-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees.
Why it matters: The process of adjourning the Senate to allow Trump to install his picks without congressional approval would mean the chamber would shirk its advice-and-consent role for cabinet confirmations.
- The president-elect demanded ahead of the Senate Republican leader race — from which Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) emerged victorious — that any senator seeking the position must agree to recess appointments, "without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner."
- Thune has expressed willingness to use the tool, saying "all options are on the table."
Driving the news: Johnson did not rule out the use of recess appointments in a "Fox News Sunday" interview, saying, "We'll have to see how it plays out."
- He pointed to "a very partisan atmosphere" in Washington that he believes could hinder the process of Senate confirmations, adding, "If this thing bogs down, it would be a great detriment ... to the American people."
- If the Senate refuses to recess but the House does, Trump would have the power to adjourn the entire Congress, Axios' Ivana Saric reports.
The big picture: Congressional scholars have warned circumventing the traditional confirmation process would inflate executive power by sidestepping checks and balances.
- Johnson says he's "sympathetic" to opposition to Trump's proposal, saying he's "very hopeful the Senate will do its job."
- But he criticized "hyperbole" about the plan as an attempt to "distract the American people and to try to stall President Trump in delivering upon that mandate ... the people have given him."
State of play: The Constitution allows the president to temporarily install officials without congressional approval while lawmakers are adjourned.
- It's unclear whether the soon-to-be Republican-majority Senate would agree to recess. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream he thinks his Republican colleagues would not.
- "They understand our constitutional role," he said. "We're a check and balance; we're there to be a guardrail."
The bottom line: Trump's demand comes as he's lobbed several controversial Cabinet picks at Senate Republicans, effectively daring them to defy him.
Go deeper: Trump dares Senate Republicans with Gaetz nomination
