November 15, 2024

"John Thune Says Recess Appointments 'On the Table' To Get Trump Picks Through."

Newsweek reports.

"I think that all options are on the table, including recess appointments. Hopefully, it doesn't get to that but we'll find out fairly quickly whether the Democrats want to play ball or not," [Thune] said on Thursday during an interview....

If Trump were to use recess appointments at the start of his term, those appointees could remain in their positions until the end of the next Senate session, or until 2026.

Per the Congressional Research Service, former President Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments, ex-President George W. Bush made 171 and former President Bill Clinton made 139 while the Senate was on recess....

"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 posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. 

121 comments:

mccullough said...

Does Thune inherit Mitch’s Chinese benefactors?

Democrats Love Waste Fraud Abuse/ Rachel Maddow = Lying Psycho said...

whatever it takes to drain the corrupt swamp. Just do it.

John Borell said...

The Senate should not so easily give up it's Advice and Consent power; this will be used in ways the GOP does not like when there is an inevitable Democratic president.

Aggie said...

John Thune says, encouragingly, that recess appointments are 'on the table', in case those pesky Democrats start getting feisty.

John Thune says, encouragingly, 'Jump, Donald ! The water's plenty deep down there ! It's the old familiar S. O. S. Rino double-talk.

Todd said...

This will be UNPRESIDENTED and a TOTAL VIOLATION OF NORMS despite the fact that this has always been done. If OrangeManBad does it, it is an afront to all that is right and holy, so say the very creatures we are trying to get out of our system.

Koot Katmandu said...

Watch what they do not what they say.

ThatsGoingToLeaveA said...

"Per the Congressional Research Service, former President Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments, ex-President George W. Bush made 171 and former President Bill Clinton made 139 while the Senate was on recess...."

Is this from an authoritative style guide? Democrat presidents become "former" and Republican presidents become "ex-". Something like former lover vs. ex-wife semmanticly.

Duke Dan said...

The problem here is last time the Dems just gummed up the works to require whatever full timeline was needed on confirmations one at a time just to prevent anyone from being put in place. They would not vote to just move directly to the up/down vote (which was going to confirm). So if the recess threat prevents this it did its job. Legit questions and objections are fine. Resist crybabyism not so much.

Kate said...

I can remember Bush installing Bolton via recess appointment because the Senate was dragging its heels. When did it stop? With Trump? Recess hits a balance between the branches. Bring it back.

RCOCEAN II said...

So, once again the Republican majority leader is working with Schumer to sabotage Trump. "Its on the table". That means it wont happen. "If they wont play ball" means = I'll get together with Schumer and I'll do what he wants.

Give Schumer 50 votes and the VP, and he almost rams through getting rid of the filibuster and the most radical, partisan, legislation ever. Including Amnesty and "electoral reform". The house impeaches Mayorkas, and Schumer refuses to hold a trial and just laughs.

Now, gutless uniparty Thune is in charge, and will be "reaching across the aisle" to please Schumer and saying "Mother, may I?".

rehajm said...

Yah, I'm surprised Schumer let him say this...

RCOCEAN II said...

Biden didn't need recess appoinments, because almost radical judge and leftwing Cabinet members got R votes and had no D defectors. The RINOS, Mittens and Miss Lindsey voted for the Most radical SCOTUS judge ever. They also voted for Mayorkas and Merrick Garland.

Now, when they have the majority, and Trump is in power, Miss Lindsey and the RINOs will be "alarmed and dismayed" at his "radical" picks, and will help the D's vote them down and stall them. This will never change until R voters wise up, which will be never.

mindnumbrobot said...

Thune doesn't have the balls.

narciso said...

And otto reich

Leland said...

This is why they call the GOP the stupid party. The Democrats will do it anyway. Hell, they were promising the end the filibuster just a month ago. Sure, I rather we not "use the nuclear option", but "Recess Appointments" <> "the nuclear option". Recess Appointments are the norm.

Besides, the newly elected President just got the Advice and Consent from the American people. Maybe be a bit more deliberative when the VP somehow becomes the leader without using the 25th Amendment and/or the House Minority Leader or Senate Majority Leader start making the appointments.

tim maguire said...

Recess appointments should only be valid during the recess. But that's not the way things are done and hasn't been for some time.

Among the many clean up jobs Trump is in Washington to perform, this one does not rank very highly.

Pillage Idiot said...

Probably not, while Mitch is still alive.

However, I would like to see a copy of the will.

West TX Intermediate Crude said...

Lots of gnashing of teeth and clutching of pearls over the nomination of Gaetz, RFKJr, and Tulsi.
Similar language and (mostly) the same people when the likelihood of Trump running, and then running again.
He's mean, he's nasty, he's not presidential, he's a fascist, he's stupid, he can never win...
And then he's president (again).
The voters want Trump to do to the government what Trump wants his nominees to do to their parts of the government.
Recess appt all of them, let them go to work. Fire them or impeach them if they do not perform.
I'm betting on Trump (again).

Aggie said...

You know what the Senate might need? Exercise ! Harry Reid found that exercise machinery has a mood-changing way of moving things along, in the right direction.

narciso said...

https://x.com/MarcACaputo/status/1857428605938090212

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Oh please, John

the Democrats will do whatever they think they can to get teh power they lust for, completely irregardless of what the GOP has done in the past

See: going nuclear.

The legislative filibuster still exists because Manchin and Seinima weren't willing to vote to get rid of it, not because of any "respect for tradition" among the other 49 Democrats in the Senate.

If the Dems ever again have a trifecta, GOP Senators willing to block and slow down the nomination process, and 50+ Dems willing to let anyone the President wants in, then they'll go into a full recess.

It's completely irrelevant what happens this term

Breezy said...

Yet another reason to reduce the number of departments and agencies…

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Its never Too Early For A GOPe Full Surrender To The New Soviet Democraticals.....to "conserve conservatism very conservatively".....naturally.

Trump better not do that thing that the other Presidents did routinely....that Would Be Wrong and Breaking "Muh Precious Norms!"

CJinPA said...

Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments, ex-President George W. Bush made 171 and former President Bill Clinton made 139

I wonder how many of those were cabinet officials. Going by memory, I'd say probably none.

AMDG said...

Yes - because it will never be used by a Democrat president to install unqualified communists dedicated to reinstating the swamp!

William said...

This is one of the many areas that I don't know much about, certainly not enough to comment on or pass judgment. Here are my comments: If the Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, it seems to be a distinction without a difference. Trump's Cabinet picks will get through........The possible exception seems to be Gaetz. I don't know if he's as bad as Democrats claim. Perhaps the charges against him are of the Blasey Fraud or Jean Carroll variety, but it would be just as well to have a public airing. Robert Kennedy seems a little flaky. I think, if as might have happened, he'd been appointed to something by a Dem President many of his ardent defenders here would also have some objections.....Anyway, even if some Republicans voted against his picks, that would be on their records and an issue before their voters next election......Just as a general rule, I think every branch of government should fight to keep its prerogatives intact. I know this is a rule that Democrats would ditch in a second to advance their power or interests, but integrity means you have to sometimes sacrifice your power or interests.....The Democrats have established the principle that it's okay to have oral sex in the Oval Office, but that doesn't mean Republicans should do it.

AMDG said...

The Senate giving up its advise and consent role will not end well.

Will all you Constiution hating morons tell the same way when President AOC installs Keith Ellison as AG and Rashida Talib as SOS?

planetgeo said...

Is it legal? Yes. Has it been used numerous times by both parties? Yes.

So what's the problem? You might be called bad names and no longer be invited to the best parties by the cool kids. Ok then, full speed ahead.

tommyesq said...

"this will be used in ways the GOP does not like when there is an inevitable Democratic president."

Read the post - it has been used repeatedly, by dems and repubs alike. Plus, what would be worse than the batch of losers Biden got through?

Just an old country lawyer said...

I was very pleased to see that Trump's first foreign visitor was Javier Milei of Argentina, who has been ruthless in cutting up the bureaucracy and slowing the horrendous inflation in his country.
I hope he left one of his trademark chainsaws for his host.
Query: since under the Constitution the vice president Vance will be the President of the senate, why can't he act in the place of the majority leader, which is not a constitutional office? Does being senate president mean only that he can cast tie breaking votes, or can he take a more active role, as did John Adams during Washington's term?

narciso said...

After 2021 can we say they did any advising endorsing people who nearly destroyed this country

AMDG said...

iam Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”

Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”

William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”

Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

tommyesq said...

I believe Clinton made the last cabinet-level recess appointment.

Kevin said...

“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.”

― George Patton

Christopher B said...

Are you trying to be sarcastic? If so, you are failing miserably.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 3:
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.


The group that started breaking the norms was the Senate (in this case I think it was McConnell who decided this would be a good way to styme a President he didn't like, of either party) which started the practice of opening and closing a pro forma session so even if they weren't doing any business they were never in recess except briefly between sessions.

Charlie Currie said...

Here's hoping Thun announces his run for SD Governor soon. I assume it will be shortly after Kristi Noem is confirmed.

mikeski said...

UNPRESIDENTED

Nice portmanteau work here.

Christopher B said...

That's a completely ass-backwards comparison. The norm breaking started with McConnell holding a pro forma session and never recessing even though it is clearly contemplated in the Constitution, and recess appointments are a limited power granted to the President. The Democrats then kept up the scam, and McConnell did so as well so he could completely control who got confirmed.

Democrats Love Waste Fraud Abuse/ Rachel Maddow = Lying Psycho said...

AMDG - the left already install unqualified communist recess appointments and mob-squish hacks.

AMDG said...

What Trump wants to do is game the system. Having the Senate go into recess for the specific express purpose of allowing the President to appoint people that would otherwise be rejected by the Senate flies in the face of a key component of our system: the separation of powers.

If it isn’t unconstitutional by law, and it very well might be, it certainly is unconstitutional in spirit.

Why are you retards intent on destroying the Constitution for the sake of Matt Gaetz?

William said...

The Democrats have established the precedent that it's okay for the President to have oral sex with an intern in the Oval Office. Just because that precedent has been established does not mean it's okay for Presidents to do it.....I think the Senate should keep all its prerogatives even though the Democrats would drop them in a minute to advance their own interests or party power......Here's an argument for a Senate hearing. I don't know if the charges against Gaetz are of the Blasey-Fraud variety or if there's any substance to them. Perhaps an open hearing would help him restore his name. Kennedy is kind of flaky. If, as might have happened, the Democrats had appointed him to something, many of his ardent defenders here would be just as ardent in their opposition.....If some Republican Senators wish to reject his Trump's picks, let them do it on the record and let their voters pass judgment on their wisdom. I'm pretty sure that with the exception of Gaetz and Kennedy, Trump's picks can pass through. Gaetz and Kennedy might indeed come out ahead if they defend their positions in a Senate hearing. I don't know that much about Gaetz, but Kennedy seems articulate and well able to offer a rebuttal to arguments against him.

Saint Croix said...

What I liked -- it was before my time, but I like it retrospectively -- is when a "filibuster" actually required a Senator to stand there like a gasbag and read from the phone book. I've had it up to here with Senators mailing in their filibusters from the beach. Bring back the Guinness Book of World Records filibuster! And remember to bend those knees so you don't fall over, jackass.

Saint Croix said...

And if you actually make the Senators do something -- I'm pretending here that standing up is doing something -- it makes their institution seem alive and relevant. People watch it on TV and talk it about it in bars.

"Is he still standing up?"

"Yeah, he's reading Mark Twain out loud."

"When are they bringing in a sub?"

Strom Thurmond has the record, by the way. 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. And then he fucked four girls!

Democrats Love Waste Fraud Abuse/ Rachel Maddow = Lying Psycho said...

The Rules:
Democrats can be as corrupt and cretin-like as needed.
R's must be perfect in every way.

best example: Bill Clinton is a rapist - yet he is applauded wherever he goes.

Saint Croix said...

Eisenhower used a recess appointment to put people on the Supreme Court(!)

David53 said...

Exactly.

Achilles said...

Bush used recess appointments too.

The only person not allowed to use them according to the traitors that slouch around DC is Trump.

Democrats Love Waste Fraud Abuse/ Rachel Maddow = Lying Psycho said...

Best for Trump to stick with the old dying money whore back-stabbers we all know and love.

Saint Croix said...

If Trump were to use recess appointments at the start of his term, those appointees could remain in their positions until the end of the next Senate session, or until 2026.

Trump will be a lame duck in 2026, anyway. If any federal agencies are to be imploded, knock on wood, it will happen in the first two years.

I'm kinda hoping the Secretary of Education fires everybody under him and then says shit about the Ivy League for two years.

Achilles said...

These are just people pretending to be Republicans.

Trump got millions more votes than any other Republican in history because he actually tries to do what he said he would do.

People like John Borell know what the results of their actions are. They are controlled opposition who work for the swamp.

Howard said...

Trump has mandate. He should get everyone appointed in. Let the chips fall where they may. I have complete confidence that it will all work out in the wash.

Achilles said...

Thune has always been a democrat pretending to be a republican.

Saint Croix said...

If it isn’t unconstitutional by law, and it very well might be, it certainly is unconstitutional in spirit.

That sounds like a really shitty Supreme Court dissent!

They'll be laughing about that one in law school classrooms for a century.

Kids will write it on their exams when they don't know what to say.

"It's unconstitutional in spirit!"

Saint Croix said...

Thune doesn't have the balls.

Trump nickname suggestion!

John "Ken Doll" Thune

Gravel said...

Questions for the lawyers: as I understand it, in the Canning decision, SCOTUS ruled that the recess must be at least 10 days for the recess appointment to be valid.

Is my understanding correct? What are the 'gotchas' here?

John henry said...

Re former and ex presidents shouldn't the all "President Emeritus" Clinton etc?

Kind of like how pelosi styles herself "speaker emeritus"

And in the case of Donald Trump should he be "President Emeritus /Elect Donald Trump"?

Or should we drop the emeritus?

John Henry

Yancey Ward said...

Mitch is alive?

Big Mike said...

@Saint Croix, not “a” recess appointment , but three of them: Earl Warren as Chief Justice, William Brennan, and Potter Stewart. Recess appointments are time-limited unless later confirmed, and all three were, in fact, later confirmed by overwhelming margins. Eisenhower also had an additional two Supreme.Court nominations — John Marshall Harlan and Charles Whittaker — confirmed via the normal route.

Mark said...

Let's not engage in the farce of comparing what past presidents have done with recess appointments to what Trump has planned here.

Yancey Ward said...

The Democrats don't do this because they never have to- even when the GOP holds the Senate, you can always count on half the GOP caucus to vote for whoever the Democrat president appoints to any position 99.9% of the time.

The same thing happened with judicial appointments- the moment, only the very moment, the GOP tried to filibuster judicial appointments and held their caucus together, the Democrats just removed the filibuster on a majority vote- and this all happened after the GOP majority had refused to do exactly this for G.W. Bush's Circuit and Appeals Courts appointments in 2001-2005. Even in the Gorsuch confirmation, there were Republicans (McCain) who didn't want to invoke the "nuclear option".

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Vault Dweller said...

Yeah, Republicans, especially the established types, need to realize that almost all gains Republicans saw were because people were voting for Trump not Republicans. This may have involved actual voting for Republicans in other offices, but the purpose was so they could support Trump and his agenda. Just because more people now view the Democrat brand as toxic doesn't mean they like the generic Republican brand. Republicans really need to remember this for 4 years from now when there is another Presidential election cycle.

Drago said...

LOL

What an absolutely perfect Dumb Lefty Mark statement.

It just doesn't get any better than that.

Dixcus said...

You got to marry into that money, bro. Mitch walked the walk.

Dixcus said...

The only people ever to successfully drain the swamp were the British who burned down the White House. I think it's a requirement that you have to at least start there.

The Vault Dweller said...

The fact that Thune is putting out a statement like this makes me think there could have been a deal between Trump and Thune, where Trump agrees to not make a stink about Thune getting the leadership position and putting a lot of his cronies in other Senate leadership positions, provided he gets Trump's nominees confirmed. There was a lot of social media pressure to put Rick Scott as Senate Leader. There was also a sign that Republican Senators were feeling that pressure because there was a story based on a Republican leak saying Republican Senators felt 'bullied' to vote for Rick Scott.

Yancey Ward said...

I think the fact that the Senate itself supported the Canning lawsuit (because the Republicans controlled the Senate at the time) went a long way to getting SCOTUS to rule this way.

Drago said...

AMDG, the utterly failed Wannabe DeSantis Online Influencer and Never-Trump globalist boy suckup, whose been batting about 0.000 for the last 24 months in all his gloriously moronic political prognostications and assessments, is now reduced to going Full Democratical just like his Bulwark and Dispatch allies.

There's literally no where else for this loser to go....so he doubles and triples down on his loser "hot takes".

I expect it to get much worse as the "Steve Deace of Althouse blog" continues his descent into greater idiocy as we see in this thread.

But again, make no mistake, AMDG is ONLY complaining about this because it is Trump. If it were anyone else he wouldn't utter a peep.

Not. A. Peep.

He should seek counseling.

Freder Frederson said...

Javier Milei of Argentina, who has been ruthless in cutting up the bureaucracy and slowing the horrendous inflation in his country.

And all it took was doubling the poverty rate, so now just over half the country lives in poverty.

Drago said...
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Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

"I wonder how many of those were cabinet officials. Going by memory, I'd say probably none."

There may indeed be deals already cut to get in the #2,3,4 etc persons in the depts in lieu of the cabinet level official so that those underlings can then assume full authority on a temporary basis so the policy changes occur while the political fights at the confirmation level continues.

Have you checked out Blanche, Bove and Sauer as the #2, 3 and 4 nominees for the DOJ under the Gaetz nomination?

All those 3 are stellar in terms of loyalty to Trump, loyalty to the vision/mission of the Trump admin, AND carry all the credentials and requisite experience the establishment types say they crave so desperately (LOL).

If they usual GOPe suspects balk at those 3 in addition to Gaetz, then you will know perfectly well that the opposition to Gaetz is all just BS (we already know how much is driven by pure fear).

Freder Frederson said...

Howard, I assume you are being facetious. But what the hell, if he has a mandate with a good but not crushing margin in the Electoral College and barely winning the popular vote (all the ingrate illegal immigrants we invited in and helped to register to vote stabbed us in the back and voted for Trump), why not just recess Congress forever?

Freder Frederson said...

You mean the Rick Scott who defrauded Medicare (the largest fine ever for Medicare fraud ever at the time--2002).

CJinPA said...

"There may indeed be deals already cut to get in the #2,3,4 etc persons in the depts in lieu of the cabinet level official so that those underlings can then assume full authority on a temporary basis so the policy changes occur while the political fights at the confirmation level continues."

I hope so. There's work to be done.

We're going to find out what it looks like for a lame duck president to also have a mandate.

Tina Trent said...

I don’t care if Trump is vulgar so long as he gets things done. But when appointing someone to dismantle an agency, you’re not getting it done if you pick an incompetent person.

I’m also sure plenty of Democrats would vote for Gaetz precisely because they know his appointment will be a disaster, so he may get enough Democrat votes to offset Republican dissent. People should think about that.

A Tulsi or RFK Jr. would be good recess appointments. They seem competent to shake things up but have angered the Democrats enough to make hearings risky.

Earnest Prole said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hassayamper said...

The Constitution is explicit. The Vice President is the President of the Senate, full stop. Any powers the Senate Majority Leader, Senate President Pro Tempore, or any other leader of the body may exercise are delegated by him, and may be taken up again by him at his sole discretion.

If Vance so chooses, he can manipulate the function of the Senate in many ways, great and small, among them controlling the agenda, bringing legislation to a vote (or not bringing it without a successful discharge petition), recognizing members to speak, calling for cloture, adjourning, recessing, and recalling the session at his discretion, and assigning members to committees. Moreover, he can do this without following the President's orders, or even consulting him.

The blowhards of the Senate would be absolutely furious, but could do little to prevent it, and if they made an enemy of Vance, would find it very hard indeed to see their own legislation advance.

Original Mike said...

"The Constitution is explicit. The Vice President is the President of the Senate, full stop. Any powers the Senate Majority Leader, Senate President Pro Tempore, or any other leader of the body may exercise are delegated by him, and may be taken up again by him at his sole discretion."

Interesting. And what else consequential does Vance have to do anyways?
Perhaps not so much a bucket of warm piss.

Original Mike said...

Why wouldn't this power have been exploited when the White House and the Senate were in the hands of different parties?

Rabel said...

"Per the Congressional Research Service, former President Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments, ex-President George W. Bush made 171 and former President Bill Clinton made 139 while the Senate was on recess."

So, how many did Trump make during his first term? I could only find that he made zero federal judge recess appointments.

I think the full answer is also zero and the reason was McConnell. Surprisingly hard to find.

Also, "in" recess.

Tina Trent said...

Well Drago, to answer your question, I’m very confident in Sauer — a brilliant attorney who clerked for Scalia. I don’t know anything about Bove. But Blanche worries me because he was a Democrat until five seconds ago. He reminds me of Steve Sadow, another of Trump’s defense attorneys — also brilliant, but also a dem. And what would the Blanche agenda be, being a career-long Democrat? One single year as a Republican needs some explaining. Trump screwed up badly regarding criminal justice last time. Do Blanche and Bove have the usual defense bar preference for criminals over public safety? Do any of these men have the backbone to take on the hate crimes industry, the progenitor of the politicization of the DOJ to its highest leadership in the first place? But Sauer is a great pick. I’m happy to hear more about them.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

It’s a question of quantity and quality. While the numbers cited for past Presidents approach 10% to 15% of the total number of offices that require Senate confirmation, all probably relate to minor officials. When was the last time there was a Recess Secretary or a Recess Attorney General?

There is also very good reason to give all the minor appointments full Senate scrutiny. As we saw in his last administration, Trump is quite prepared to fire members of his Cabinet and replace them with acting officials, so every minor appointment should be regarded by the Senate as a potential Acting Secretary.

narciso said...

what happened with those blue chip attorneys that he staffed the cabinet with, the ones who dropped the J20 prosecutions, not for cause,

Peter Spieker said...


I don’t see this as working. Say a majority of the Senate is unwilling to confirm a nominee. To do a recess appointment, a Senate in session (as the Senate must be by law on 1/3/25) needs to vote change their status, right? Why would any Senator opposed to a nomination vote for an adjournment whose only purpose is to allow a recess appointment for a nominee they oppose? Surely their policy would be to all vote against adjournment until the nomination is defeated in due course. Maybe I’m missing something. The Senate does have some odd rules.

More generally, this gambit seems obnoxious to me. The constitution says the Senate shall advise and consent, not may advise and consent. It is not just a power they have, it is a duty the must perform under the appropriate circumstances. The appropriate circumstances are when they are in session and have a nominee before them. To go out of session, just to allow a recess appointment, is a clear dereliction of duty. The many recess appointment made when the Senate was not in session are not true precedents for this gimmick.

Saint Croix said...

Thune sounds like the bad guy in a 007 movie.

Not a principal bad guy. One of the evil sidekicks.

Oddjob

Jaws

Thune

Saint Croix said...

Or an alien race in Star Wars

Thune: "What do you think, Admiral?"

Admiral Ackbar: "It's a trap!"

Thune: "We'll find out pretty quickly if the Empire wants to play ball or not."

John said...

The main problem with using recess appointments of cabinet members is that they are only valid for one congress, i.e., for two years. That means if the 2026 Senate goes Democratic, Trump will be putting people in as "acting" heads of departments.

John said...

I noticed that as well. Interesting.

tcrosse said...

Somebody put forward the theory that the Gaetz nomination is a loyalty test, to tell Trump which senators are on board and which aren't.

Yancey Ward said...

I don't think adjournment is a majority vote decision- it is up to the majority leader according to Senate rules (which can, of course, be changed but usually only if the majority leader brings it forward for a vote).

John said...

From Wiki, Obama appointed Richard Cordray as CFPB head this way in 2012.
George H. W. Bush appointed Lawrence Eagleburger as Secretary of State during a recess in 1992. Hell, Washington appointed John Rutledge as the Chief Justice using a recess appointment. Rutledge resigned when the Senate rejected his appointment a few months later.

wayworn wanderer said...

Gutless. Of course, Obama and Bush were too.

John said...

Christopher B: I believe it was Harry Reid, the abusee of exercise equipment referenced above, who started the pro forma sessions to prevent GW Bush from making recess appointments.

Gravel said...

Exactly. "On the table" is a far cry from it actually happening.

Tina Trent said...

Democrats will vote for him because they know he will fail.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Thune gave a pretty clear set of circumstances under which he would consider going into recess. That's hardly "abdicating" their responsibility. IMO it's signaling to Democrats not to get stuck on stupid, or there will be consequences. I have questions:
1. How many "acting" cabinet members does Biden have right now?
2. Do you even know?
3. What "advise and consent" proceeding did his "czars" withstand?

Jim at said...

all the ingrate illegal immigrants we invited in and helped to register to vote stabbed us in the back and voted for Trump

Once again, dumbass, there's a big difference between legal immigrants and illegal ones.

It's the legal immigrants who voted for Trump because they're sick of getting stabbed in the back by the people who support illegal ones.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

What that number tells us, Freder, is that about a quarter of all jobs lost in Milei's first six months were "government jobs" but with inflation cut from 200% to 2.7% the rate of growth is (top start-up rate among G20 countries) for both businesses and personal income is eroding that temporary high "poverty" rate. I use scare quotes because the most impoverishing aspect was the inflation, which Milei's policies reversed quickly. A stable economy helps lift everyone out of poverty.

You really ought to read some Thomas Sowell sometime or even the Argentine news beyond the crazy headlines.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Do weekends count?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Mark do you think it just happened by accident in the past? 500 times over three presidents? That's a lot of oopsies, even for a completely amoral retard like you.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Well let's at least examine the ones who voted for that hideous creature Garland but are making noise (cough Lindsey cough) about voting no now.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Then why did Obama do it? Many times.

Freder Frederson said...

but with inflation cut from 200% to 2.7%

You are conflating annual inflation with month to month inflation.

rehajm said...

+1

Mark said...

Hey guys, you are harassing the wrong Mark.

Pretty par for your posts. You never check your facts before spouting bile.

Yancey Ward said...

And how many of those were refused confirmation by the same Senate?

Yancey Ward said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Yancey Ward said...

Though, to clarify my comment- I meant the Democrats don't recess the Senate precisely for reasons of allowing their President to appoint people using the recess appointment power. When Democrats control the Senate they can always depend on the GOP to not filibuster appointments.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Cmon man its pretty see through if you can put it together.This a loyalty test so trumps sees whose in and who isnt. He is drooling to use the never before send em through with no confirmation so he gets his people.Whats a matter with that? You still got Marhjorie Green ,Louie Gohmert Lorean Bobbert, and even Lara Trump to send through for some cool spots.You also have the CO PRESIDENT Elon making his way on the international scene with talks with Iran and of course Vlad. This is what the voting population wanted so SO BE IT. Lets go ,send em through.You can still purchase the new hats and T shirts from Kennedy MAKE EVERYONE HEALTHY again and Melody selling for a mere $199.00 her escapades. Im sure the merch people up in here got to be creamin for a new purchase.The AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT is finally here. The ones up in here that need to see what SCOTT ADAMS approval says before they can function should be anxious to see what his take is on this. Yes sir A BRAVE NEW WORLD as Aldous so predicted from way back.Part of the whining has always been "its too boring" well hang on folks Barnum is back in town! Lets go WHATS THE PROBLEM SEND EM THROUGH LETS HAVE ANOTHER FIRST,its just more to add to the annals of History! Matt got his records squashed so no one can see that so hes good now. BRANDON is thinking playing the game ,pardon em all Hunter .Nancy, Chuck, Shift Shiff, ARI, Liz, and the others soon to be lawfared and just claim its "OFFICIAL DUTY" and put him on par with the Manafort,Flynn, Stone ETC already indicted perps Brandon Using his Kumbyya with the shaking of hands and invitations are silly in this BRAVE NEW WORLD. Melody knew that she bailed...smart..she says "I dont really care do you"! This is gonna be fun instead of competent and boring .Funs okay at my age In program WE speak of RULE 62 good coverage for this group! :)

Narayanan said...

looks like Trump wants ceasefire with Congress for 2 years at lest to bring about Peace Around Globe ?
will Congress oblige or align with enemies?

Lazarus said...

My understanding is that recess appointments have been around since George Washington. The question isn't whether the president has the right or whether Congress gives him the right. It's whether the congressional leadership will try to block the president. It looks like this is something every president does, except when Congress refuses to officially adjourn and go into recess. That happened with Bush 43, Obama, and Trump.

Lazarus said...

It was Brennan that Eisenhower put on the Supreme Court with a recess appointment. It was an election year, and Eisenhower thought it would help him with Catholics. Ike was asked later if he had made any mistakes as president. He said yes, two of them are on the Supreme Court. One of them had to be Brennan. Ike liked a speech Brennan made, but it turned out that Brennan was reading a speech that his superior on the NJ Supreme Court was supposed to deliver.

Tina Trent said...

Correct. Succinct.

Gospace said...

Trump, by definition, is already a lame duck. A lame duck with a bunch of voters who want to see him succeed.

Drago said...

"Hey guys, you are harassing the wrong Mark."

Guilty as charged in this thread. I'm usually diligent in not mistaking you, VA Lawyer Mark, with Dumb Lefty Mark.

No excuse really, but in my defense I will say that your missives on this blog have become quite indistinguishable from Dumb Lefty Mark and his bile filled offerings.

But I will endeavor to not mistake you for him again.

Christopher B said...

A CRS report from 2015 that goes into detail on recesses and recess appointments. Because both chambers have to agree to stop meeting for periods longer than 3 days, and by USSC ruling a recess has to last at least 10 days for the recess appointment to be effective, I think it would be subject to a vote not just of the Senate but also the House.
It does appear that they do vote to adjourn but with the understanding that these pro forma meetings will occur to block appointments.
There was some debate over whether the pro forma sessions typically held satisfy the requirement to not be in recess were valid but the USSC ruled they were. Whenever the body is brought into session there is always the possibility that some group of Senators could conduct business during a period when other members were not expecting any substantive action so this is a situation where the rest of the Senate has to assume that nothing is going to happen in the pro forma session.

Kakistocracy said...

Why prevent the ethics committee report from being shared or made public? If there is nothing to hide then won’t it help with the nomination?

Aggie said...

Hey STINKY ! I thought you were absolutely-take-it-to-the-bank on how the election would turn out. But now we should absolutely listen to what you have to say about the new Administration ? ? ?

Track records, baby. Is it going to change to '47' any time soon?

Achilles said...

Dumb Lefty Mark is not specific enough.

One is a dumb lefty that is honest about being a lefty.

The other dumb lefty pretends to be a republican/conservative and is even more dishonest than the other dumb lefty. You need to add dishonest to dumb lefty Mark on this one Drago.