President-elect Donald Trump publicly waded into the Senate leadership race for the first time on Sunday, posting on Truth Social that any candidate for the next Senate majority leader should support his authority to make recess appointments to his cabinet.
“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 wrote. He added, “Sometimes the votes can take two years or more. This is what happened four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!”
Trump emphasized that recess appointments would allow the president to appoint individuals to key positions without requiring Senate confirmation. Currently, both chambers of Congress hold “pro forma” sessions, even when lawmakers are away, to prevent the president from bypassing confirmation votes. This tactic has limited a president’s ability to make such appointments since the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Barack Obama’s attempt at recess appointments during a three-day break was invalid. The decision clarified that true recesses are longer, giving the Senate more power to block similar appointments in the future.
Also read: Trump appoints Tom Homan as head of border and deportation policy
