# The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 11, 2024, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068 "2024-11-11T06:19:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 53
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068/53 "2024-11-13T10:55:54Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > What are the odds that Trump will succeed in doing an end run around the Senate, so that nominees are not fully scrutinized or possibly found to be unsuitable? Well, he is trying to get Senate leaders to permit him to make ‘recess appointments’ by default. What are recess appointments? The Congressional Research Service (CRS) [has answers](https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RS/RS21308#page4): > _# What Is the Purpose of a Recess Appointment?_ > > _The Constitution states that “[t]he 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” (Article II, §2, clause 3). The records of debate at the Constitutional > Convention do not provide much evidence of the framers’ intentions in the Recess Appointment > Clause. A discussion of the clause by Alexander Hamilton, in The Federalist Papers, suggests > that its purpose was to provide an alternative method of appointment that would allow the filling > of vacancies “without delay” during periods of Senate absence.1 Opinions by later Attorneys > General also supported this general notion, suggesting that the purpose of the clause was to allow > the President to maintain the continuity of administrative government through the temporary > filling of offices during periods when the Senate was not in session, at which time his nominees > could not be considered or confirmed.2 This interpretation is supported by the fact that both > houses of Congress had relatively short sessions and long recesses during the country’s early > years. In fact, until the beginning of the 20th century, the Senate was, on average, in session less > than half the year.3 Throughout the history of the republic, Presidents have also sometimes used > the recess appointment power for political reasons. For example, recess appointments have > sometimes enabled the President to temporarily install an appointee who probably would not be > confirmed by the Senate._ Trump very much wants to appoint Cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, and heads of executive agencies without the formalities of Senate confirmation hearings even if the results are guarenteed, and it is not at all assured that this Republican-dominated Senate with a majority in thrall of MAGA willnot grant him that authority on at least a limited basis “for expediency”. It isn’t even unconstitutional if the Senate agrees, so all of those posters repeating the mantra [“As long as the Constitution remains intact, we’ll be fine,”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-political-rage-that-i-feel-is-eating-me-up/1009971/96) should respectfully consider the implications of this even if they believe it to be unlikely. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Don’t sone positions require confirmation from the House and Senate? Only the Senate confirms Cabinet secretaries and other people with first and second tier executive authority (in essence, ‘speaking for the President’ as part of their duty to [“advise and consent”](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S1-C1-2/ALDE_00013791/%5B'advise',%2520'and',%2520'consent'%5D). > [@Monty](#): > > He quickly discovered last time around he can rotate “acting” members for those positions. Why wouldn’t he do the same thing this time? Yes, but first they have to be confirmed by the Senate into some high tier position. Unless…well, see above. Everyone should read the [U.S. Constitution](https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/). I suspect most people have not because they believe it has no bearing on their everyday lives and _The Golden Bachelorette_ is really enthralling, but it is actually not a long document and written mostly in plain language. Reading it won’t enshroud you in protective armor but at least you’ll be familiar when you see the government exercising ‘loopholes’ like recess appointments in a way not at all in line with the intentions of the authors, and also when your rights are being flatly violated (which happens quite a lot, actually, and with the tacit extent of both major parties). The CRS also has [an excellent series of reports exploring the Constitutional framework and background context](https://crsreports.congress.gov/search/#/?termsToSearch=constitution&orderBy=Relevance) which is a great place to get started if you are curious about interpretations pf the Constitution free of partisan bullshit. It is very helpful in identifying when an autocrat, enabled by the legislature and not restrained by the courts, is trying to take away your protected freedoms or subvert the required duties of government and separation of powers. Finally, while the parallels are not exact, I’m just going to throw [this dead cat on the table](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_cabinet) for your consideration because it is a surprisingly well-written for a Wikipedia article and presents a scenario _which actually happened_ in which a despot took control of a government without electoral consent or a broad decree and then…well, we all know what happened next: Stranger --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-1/1010068)._