Sen. John Thune (R-SD) won’t assume his new role as Senate majority leader until the next Congress is seated Jan. 3. But he’s already being put to the test.
President-elect Donald Trump’s eyebrow-raising Cabinet nominees, including former Rep. Matt Gaetz, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and ex-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are putting Thune between a rock and a hard place.
Trump wants his nominees quickly installed after taking office but has threatened to do so via recess appointment, a tactic that would require senators to cede their constitutional “advise and consent” powers — and one that Republicans are growing weary of.
Democrats, fresh off losing their Senate majority in last week’s elections, appear to be relishing the moment.
“I think that this nomination would be the first major test of whether [Republicans] are able to stand up to Donald Trump,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said of Gaetz for attorney general.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said recess appointments were “certainly not the way I would want to go.”
“But you know what? The Republicans are in charge,” she said. “It’s their ballgame now.”
Thune, for his part, is willing to go the recess route if all else fails. He’s pledged to Republicans, and warned Democrats, the priority will be confirming Trump’s nominees no matter potential roadblocks from across the aisle.
“My view is we want to do this the regular way and give the Democrats a chance to work with us on getting people in place,” Thune said Thursday on Fox News. “We’re going to grind them out on the floor of the United States Senate. We’re not going to take any options off the table.”
However, he’s offered little insight on how his new Republican leadership would handle controversial picks like Gaetz or any others. Thune conceded their fate was uncertain amid some GOP “skeptics” and that they may even lack a recess appointment pathway. But he said they “deserve a process.”
“You have to have all Republicans vote to recess as well,” Thune said. “So the same Republicans that you mentioned that might have a problem voting for somebody under regular order probably would also have a problem voting to put the Senate into recess.”
Gaetz abruptly resigned this week after his nomination but before the House Ethics Committee could release the findings of its investigation into him for allegations of sex trafficking and sex with a minor. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, and the Justice Department did not bring any charges against him following a sex trafficking investigation.
Trump’s initial push for recess appointments was met with head-scratching from senators. Republicans will have a 53-47 majority, a three-seat buffer that should allow the Senate to secure a simple majority with relative ease.
Due to Senate procedures and the partisan makeup, it would likely be more efficient for Republicans to work through normal confirmation — unless Trump’s picks would struggle to muster enough Republican support. His string of controversial nominees put forward this week raises the specter that some of his choices may have no other avenue than a recess appointment.
Some Republicans have already sent up public smoke signals for team Trump to prepare for the possibility of nominees failing, such as Gaetz.
“The president has an obligation to make sure that that nominee is going to pass vetting and have the votes on the floor,” said Judiciary Committee member Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), whose panel will handle Gaetz’s attorney general nomination. “I will consider Matt Gaetz like I will anybody else. But if they don’t do the homework, don’t be surprised that they fail.”
TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO’S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S ADMINISTRATION
Gabbard, accused of parroting Russian talking points and being a sympathizer to dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al Assad, was chosen for director of national intelligence. Hegseth, a decorated combat veteran but lacks experience in a senior defense role, was tapped as secretary of defense. Kennedy, a conspiracy promoter and vaccine skeptic, was selected to lead Health and Human Services.
“Just like all the others, I think we’ll handle them one at a time and do the vetting, and do our due diligence, and do our duty of advice and consent,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said of Kennedy’s nomination.
David Sivak contributed to this report.
