Newsweek – “There will be no recess appointments,” outgoing Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell reportedly told president-elect Donald Trump of his new cabinet choices, some of whom may face difficulty in the Senate’s normal advice and consent process. “Yes, there will,” came a response on X from Florida Senator Rick Scott, who narrowly lost the GOP Senate conference’s vote to serve as majority leader in the incoming Congress.
McConnell will be out of his leadership position by the time Trump makes his nominations official and Senate recesses will not be under his control. The decision will fall to Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), who was elected to lead the Senate Republicans last week and subsequently told Fox News that recess appointments are “on the table.” On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also indicated on Fox that “there may be a function” for recess appointments depending on the circumstances.
With the congressional Republican leadership on board and a mandate-level victory in the 2024 presidential election, recess appointments would be a perfectly valid option for President Trump.
Presidential authority to make recess appointments dates back to the Founding. Article II, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution states “The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
Wisely, the Founding Fathers realized that the Senate would not be in session at all times and that the president would need the discretionary power to keep the government functioning by appointing crucial officials. In practice this means a president can appoint any official he chooses and can rely on that official until the end of the next Senate session. This can be as long as two years, depending on the exact dates in play, and may be extended for a normal term if the Senate confirms the appointee.
Virtually every president, including George Washington, has availed himself of recess appointments. This has been true even in modern times, when the Senate meets more often and for longer times than in the early national period. Recess appointments saw the installation of ten Supreme Court Justices and hundreds of other officials over time, including cabinet-level officials such as Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who served in that capacity under President George H. W. Bush. Ronald Reagan used the recess appointments clause 240 times, while Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush issued about 20 recess appointments per year during their presidencies. Barack Obama made fewer recess appointments, but still racked up 32 over his two terms.
President Trump would therefore be completely in line with the constitutional functioning of government if he were to make recess appointments. But he could, and should, also argue that he needs them to accomplish important goals.
Trump pledged during his campaign to pursue peace negotiations in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine. Failure to resolve these conflicts in a timely fashion—especially in light of President Joe Biden‘s recent decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range U.S.-supplied weapons against Russian targets and evidence that Iran is plotting further hostile activity—could result in wider and much deadlier conflicts. To resolve them quickly, the president will need not only top officials in his cabinet, but assistant and deputy secretaries of state and defense, ambassadors, special envoys, and others who would normally require Senate confirmation, a process that usually takes months even without political controversy. In his last term, President Trump’s first ambassador to the United Kingdom—our closest ally—was not confirmed until nearly seven months after his inauguration.
Resorting to recess appointments would allow President Trump to assemble foreign and national security policy teams immediately and begin the hard work of ending these wars. If the new officials perform poorly or encounter some other Senate objection, their appointments will automatically end at the conclusion of the Senate’s next session.
As our national leaders contemplate issues of vital importance going forward, the Founding Fathers’ wisdom should prevail. President Trump should fully consider recess appointments to staff his new administration.