Opinion: Trump could use recess appointments to fill cabinet positions
Jul 29, 2017, 9:30 AM | Updated: 11:08 am
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
You are going to be hearing about recess appointments in the coming days and weeks.
The U.S. House was officially on its August recess as of Friday. The Senate was scheduled to go on break on Aug. 11, but that may happen sooner now that they’ve tanked the healthcare bill.
If Congress is in recess, the president can make a recess appointment that would bypass the confirmation process.
With Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly vacating his post and taking over as White House chief of staff replacing Reince Priebus, there was an opening at DHS that needed to be confirmed.
Here’s what is very likely to happen: When the Senate leaves for August recess, President Donald Trump would appoint Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Kelly’s old job and then appoint a new attorney general.
Both would be recess appointments that would elude the Senate confirmation process.
Who could be the new attorney general? The president needs to appoint a pitbull, someone who has a legal background and someone who won’t have to recuse themselves from anything having to do with Russia, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former President Barack Obama, former United Nations ambassador and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, or the myriad of real crimes that need to be investigated and prosecuted.
I could see him picking former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), or my favorite, U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.).
Two recess appointments would be the perfect way for Trump to stick it to the sellouts in the Senate who have stopped his agenda in its tracks at every opportunity.