Johnson doesn't rule out use of recess appointments [View all]

Source: Axios

6 hours ago


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."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/11/17/johnson-trump-recess-appointment-senate-confirmation

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The House of Representatives has ZERO to do with "appointments" and "confirmations". Their only involvement would potentially be to align their new Rules for the 119th Congress with the Senate's Rules, to allow for an actual "Recess" for "appointment purposes" (something that hasn't been done in 20 years).