Speaker Mike Johnson leaves the door open to recess appointments
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday left the door open to adjourning Congress so President-elect Donald Trump can appoint his Cabinet nominees outside of the usual Senate confirmation process if necessary.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday left the door open to adjourning Congress so President-elect Donald Trump can appoint his Cabinet nominees outside of the usual Senate confirmation process if necessary.
“We’re in a time of very divided government and a very partisan atmosphere in Washington. I wish it were not. I wish the Senate would simply do its job of advise and consent and allow the president to put the persons in his Cabinet of his choosing. But if this thing bogs down, it would be a great detriment to the country, to the American people,” Johnson, R-La., told “Fox News Sunday” in response to a question about whether he’d be willing to let Trump use the recess appointment process, rather than the traditional Senate confirmation process for certain nominees.
A recess appointment occurs when a president unilaterally bypasses the Senate’s responsibility to confirm Cabinet nominees and appoints them to the job during a period when both the House and Senate are not in session for at least 10 days.
Johnson said Sunday, “We’ll evaluate all that at the appropriate time, and we’ll make the appropriate decision. There may be a function for that. We’ll have to see how it plays out.”
He added, “I’m sympathetic to all these arguments. As I said, we’ll have to see how this develops. I am very hopeful, very hopeful, that the Senate will do its job, and that is, provide its advice and consent and move these nominees along.”
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