Donald Trump’s MAGA faithful were outraged after it was leaked that Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate.
The backlash began after a now-deleted tweet from New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer claimed McConnell told colleagues ‘there will be no recess appointments’ for the president-elect’s cabinet members.
‘Message to Trump Team: “There will be no recess appointments” Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight at a Washington gathering,’ Mayer wrote on X at around 8 pm Sunday.
Trump has promised to use the strategy to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing people to senior administration positions.
He has demanded that the incoming GOP Senate leader back his use of recess appointments. McConnell recently stepped down from his position as GOP leader in the Senate and was replaced by South Dakota Senator John Thune.
Still, the 82-year-old McConnell seemed confident about his prediction. It’s unclear if he will run for re-election in 2026 at 84 and could feel less influenced by his desire to keep his seat.
Mayer has since deleted the tweet without explanation, but not before it caused commotion among Trump supporters, who suspected something was foul was afoot.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah reiterated that ‘McConnell is no longer the Senate GOP leader’ before asking: ‘Remember that time when McConnell decided he wouldn’t be speaking for Senate Republicans anymore?’
Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida was one elected official to publicly deny to missive from Meyer.
‘Yes, there will,’ Scott said bluntly in response to the Meyer tweet.
But Scott, who also ran for the Senate Majority spot, lost to Thune after a private vote Wednesday morning.
Outside Congress, many of Trump’s biggest supporters suspected McConnell of wanting to sabotage the Trump agenda.
‘This guy is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he’s going to usurp the will of 76 million people and dictate Trump’s second term,’ wrote a MAGA fan on X.
‘Snitch McConnell is trying to block Trump’s cabinet,’ added another.
Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA turned the question over to incoming leader Thune: ‘Senator Thune, care to chime in? Is this your position?’
Thune, the newly minted Senate Republican leader, was elected to usher in Trump’s ambitious GOP agenda in Congress.
The senior senator form South Dakota, 63, has had a complicated relationship with Trump over the years and many in the president-elect’s orbit didn’t want him in charge of the MAGA agenda.
But in recent months, Thune has made his support for Trump known, becoming one of the first to endorse him during the primary. The pair reportedly talked on the phone after his victory Wednesday.
Thune has even come out and suggested recess appointments could be in play.
‘One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s Cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we’ve been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,’ Thune said over the weekend.
The recess appointments would nix any Senate confirmation hearings, which are intended to give voters a chance to view the candidates as they are grilled on their positions.
The last time a recess appointment was used was in 2012 under former president Barack Obama.
That was before the Supreme Court ruled that the Senate must be on recess for at least 10 days before a president can use the mechanism, meaning the appointments could not be made while Congress was in pro forma sessions and making them effectively unusable.
Trump and President Biden have been unable to use them during their time in office.
The president-elect’s relationship with Congress was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers.
With a sweeping election victory, he has become emboldened and demanded that Senate Republicans fall in line behind his agenda.
On Monday, Trump posted on X: ‘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.
‘Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.
‘We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!’
X founder and close Trump ally Elon Musk, who is also said to be appointed the head of a new so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ backed the move.
‘This is essential. There is no other way,’ Musk commented on Trump’s post on X.
Musk then added: ‘Without recess appointments, it will take two years or more to confirm the new administration!
‘This would make it impossible to enact the change demanded by the American people, which is utterly unacceptable.’
Musk backed Senator Scott, who eventually lost the leadership race to Senator Thune.
Trump has several controversial picks for his cabinet that may struggle to get the 50 votes needed for Senate confirmation.
Matt Gaetz (nominee for attorney general), Pete Hegseth (secretary of defense), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (secretary of health and human service) and Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence) are considered the most difficult sells.
Republican Senators, who will hold the majority in January, have all expressed some doubts about their ability to be confirmed among normal circumstances.
Former George W. Bush Justice Department official John Yoo told DailyMail.com Thursday that a recess appointment is a complex matter.
‘The recess appointments clause in the Constitution effectively allows the President to appoint cabinet officers for about two years without the need for Senate confirmation,’ said Yoo.
However, that only happens if the House and Senate ‘agree on when to adjourn.’
Over the last few decades, the Senate has never been out for recess for more than a few days at a time, as they can hold ‘pro forma sessions.’
That stops the president in power from conducting recess appointments whenever they wish.
Yoo went on to say that the Senate could ‘retaliate’ by ‘refusing to adjourn, refusing to confirm any inferior officers, and cutting off funding to these officers and refusing to cooperate on Trump’s priorities.’
The president-elect could try and force the Senate into recess himself or pressure Republicans to abdicate their own power, which Yoo says is unlikely.
Unless recess appointments are used, the confirmation process may be perilously slow, as it has become a difficult process in recent years.
George H.W. Bush had seven of his 15 cabinet members already confirmed by the Senate when he took office in 1989, according to the Partnership for Public Service.
Joe Biden had just one of his 36 cabinet members approved by a Democrat-majority Senate when he was inaugurated nearly four years ago.
Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all had 200 nominees confirmed by the time they had reached 200 days in office.
In that same amount of time, both Trump (119) and Biden (118) had significantly fewer, despite both belonging to parties that had control of the Senate in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
However, Clinton, Bush and Obama all had Senate majorities of 55 seats or higher when they took office, whereas Trump and Biden have never had more than 53 Senators on their side.
The three presidents before Trump’s first term all had more than 200 nominees confirmed by 200 days in office. Trump had 119 and Biden had 118 confirmed nominees at that point, although Trump had nominated far fewer people than other presidents.
