How far can Trump go to get his nominees confirmed?
(NPR) President-elect Donald Trump is charting a course toward a major confrontation with the Senate over confirming his Cabinet nominees, which could provoke an unprecedented power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of government.
His pressure campaign is already underway, with Trump posting on social media ahead of the Senate Republican leader election earlier this week that a majority leader "must agree" to allow for recess appointments if his nominees otherwise stall out during the confirmation process. The three candidates in the leader race quickly agreed it would be an option, and the winner, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., reiterated publicly on Thursday that "all options are on the table."
"Hopefully it doesn't get to that, but we'll find out fairly quickly whether the Democrats want to play ball or not," Thune told Fox News on Thursday. Thune and other Republicans have worked to shift the focus to the minority party despite having a 53-vote GOP-controlled Senate, which can approve Trump's nominees without any help from Democrats.
But the true confrontation may not be between opposing parties. Instead, Trump may have to contend with GOP resistance to his more controversial nominees, including former Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii for director of national intelligence. Those nominees pose an early and critical test for Senate Republicans as they navigate fealty to a party leader who they say is responsible for the GOP getting unified government, and holding onto one of their most important job functions.
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/16/g-s1-34493/how-far-can-trump-go-to-get-his-nominees-confirmed
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