Here’s how Donald Trump might try to fit his controversial cabinet picks

Donald Trump has shown that he is willing to bypass the US Senate if it refuses to confirm the mysterious actors he has chosen for his cabinet. Even if his Republican allies try to block those nominees, which remains far from certain, he could have several ways around them.

Trump has already proposed one thing – a recess appointment, which means plowing ahead while the Senate is on recess.

A Trump aide, Stephen Miller, confirmed to Fox News this week that a recess appointment was being considered, adding that Trump would “use every legal, constitutional means” to accomplish his mission.

But this plan B comes with caveats and problems, it is not guaranteed to work and it can cause constitutional conflicts.

At the very least, Republicans would have to agree to a repeal. If they don’t, some Trump allies are talking about Plan C — forcing Congress to back down, which critics say could be unconstitutional, depending on how it’s done.

And if all that fails there might be a Plan D – that’s the 1998 law allows temporary appointment, although this too is subject to conditions.

Controversial minority candidates will generally have an easier path to confirmation, which requires a majority vote in the Senate, which is thought to be 53 percent held by Republicans when election tallies are still counted.

All of this foreshadows months of drama to come over the choice that has shocked Washington officials, including members of Trump’s own team.

In this storm is former congressman Matt Gaetz. He was appointed attorney general when he was investigated by Congress for alleged sex with a minor, payments for sex, using illegal drugs and accepting improper gifts.

The bipartisan ethics committee working on that investigation failed to reach consensus Wednesday to issue a draft report; However, he voted to complete the final report, according to Punchbowl News, the congressional newspaper.

There is also the choice of secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host who opposes women in the military, who does not like the Geneva Conventions against torture, and was once paid to settle a rape claim. you call lies.

A number of Republicans also expressed skepticism about the two former Democrats Trump wants to nominate: US intelligence critic Tulsi Gabbard to lead US intelligence; and vaccine, pharmaceutical and food industry critic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to lead the health office.

“My expectation is that most of these nominees are successful,” said David Lewis, an expert on presidential nominations at Vanderbilt University.

Lewis says he wouldn’t be surprised if one or two fell into serious trouble, then withdrew or were stuck in limbo.

The bottom line, he says, is that Republican senators face competing incentives. There is institutional pressure to retain power in the Senate, which has a constitutional duty to vet major presidential elections.

But their own political careers could end up supporting Trump. Fighting him has been a career-ending move for several Republicans.

“They’re under pressure,” Lewis said.

Splitting the difference

These competing demands are reflected in the loose public comments from several Republicans opposing Gaetz.

Like Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who has made clear his personal disdain for Gaetz, but is considering whether to vote to confirm him. It is possible, maybe not.

Others split the difference another way: insisting that the process must continue, and that there must be a hearing on the proposals in January, but without guaranteeing that they will vote to confirm Gaetz.

A number of senators who met Gaetz this week it turned out that he deserves to at least speak his case in court.

“This program will not be a rubber stamp and will not be run by bullies,” said Sen.

And then, if his guarantee remains?

Republicans are flirting with whether they agree to a plan B for recess appointments. Others like Seni. Rick Scott from Florida shows up to agree wholeheartedly it.

Others disagree.

Sen. Thom Tillis says leave appointments are fine for lower-level officials. They have happened hundreds of times over the generations. But they are not suitable for senior cabinet roles, he says.

“That should be completely out of the question,” the North Carolina senator told reporters Wednesday. “These positions are very important and have a lot of weight in the world.”

There are restrictions on the appointment of leave. The Supreme Court has said that Congress must be in recess for at least 10 days, which rarely happens except for a pro forma session that interrupts the recess.

The top Republican in the Senate, John Thune, sounding doubtful in an interview with local media in his hometown of South Dakota.

Without giving an opinion, he said that continuing the recess requires a motion to adjourn both chambers, which could be amended to remove the ad nauseam by the Democrats.

That has Trump allies talking about Plan C: forcing Congress to shut down. I The constitution allows it the president does this when the chambers disagree on adjournment, a vestige of control in the British system.

“It’s a bad idea and unconstitutional,” according to Ed Whelan, a legal analyst who said. he writes for the Conservative but Trump’s World Review—and skepticism.

He also called it a violation of the rules.

But that plan could collapse if both chambers of Congress oppose repeal, and several Republicans back down, the website Axios reported Wednesday.

And then, as a last resort, there is the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. A lawyer who said tried to help Trump to change the 2020 election he says the president can use that.

Jeff Clark, who worked in Trump’s Justice Department, explained the option on a podcast hosted by his colleague Steve Bannon.

A candidate can be suspended for 300 days, as long as they are not formally nominated after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Trump “has tools in his bag,” said Clark, who has been around to fight and destroy about the actions he took as Trump’s assistant attorney general in 2020.

All of these options have advantages and disadvantages. But as for the president shutting down the Senate?

“Then the wheels come off the bus,” Sarah Binder, a presidential relations expert at the Brookings Institution, told a liberal podcast hosted by the New Republic.

“How are we? [on] an unknown path here.”

He said the bottom line is that Republican lawmakers have power here — but only if they choose to use it.

They could, for example, bring the Senate back in time, and reset the recess clock to zero days, thwarting Trump’s plan.

It’s a big “if.”

“The No. 1 learning from Trump’s first four years: Skin laws can’t protect themselves. Laws can’t protect themselves,” he said. “Legislators must jump into action and choose…. Certainly standing up to Trump seems like a challenge.”