Republican Party in the Senate | Trump puts pressure on presidential candidates

(Washington) Days before Senate Republicans choose their new leader, President-elect Donald Trump is pressuring nominees to change the rules and allow him to nominate some nominees without a Senate vote.

Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida face a secret ballot Wednesday to lead the Republican Party conference and replace longtime party leader Mitch McConnell, who is running for office. retires from his post after almost two decades.

All three have courted Mr. Trump’s support in the race, vying to show who is closest to the president-elect as they campaign to become majority leader.

Mr. Trump has not thrown his support behind the race, but on Sunday he made clear that he expected the new leader to bypass the Senate’s usual order, if necessary, to allow him to quickly fill his office. In a statement on the social media networks

“Any Republican senator who wishes to obtain the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must accept nominations during the (Senate!) recess, otherwise we will not be able to get people confirmed on time,” wrote Mr. . Trump in his post, adding that the positions should be filled “IMMEDIATELY!” “.

The Senate no longer allows presidents to make recess appointments since a 2014 Supreme Court ruling limited the president’s power to do so. Since then, the Senate has held brief “pro forma” sessions when out of town for more than 10 days so that a president cannot take advantage of his absence and begin filling positions that have not been confirmed.

But with Mr. Trump’s endorsement paramount in the race, all three candidates quickly suggested they might be willing to reconsider the practice. Mr. Scott responded to Mr. Trump: “I agree 100%. I will do everything necessary to have your nominations accepted as quickly as possible.”

And Mr. Thune said in a statement that they must act “quickly and decisively” to implement the appointments and that “all options are on the table to achieve this, including appointments during vacations.”

Mr. Cornyn argued that it is “unacceptable for Democratic senators to block the President’s (Donald Trump) Cabinet nominations.” If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent.” He noted that recess appointments are permitted by the Constitution.

Sunday’s social media exchange became a first test for all three candidates since Mr. Trump was definitively elected last week to a second term.

Mr. Trump’s relationship with Congress — particularly the Senate’s advice and consent role on nominations — was tumultuous during his first term, as he chafed at resistance to his selections and looked for ways to circumvent lawmakers.

As Mr. Trump now begins a second term emboldened by his landslide election victory, he is already signaling that he expects Senate Republicans, and by extension, their new leader, to get behind his cabinet choices.

Mr. Trump also indicated on Sunday that the Senate should not approve any judges in the weeks before Republicans take power next year – a more difficult demand to satisfy since Democrats will control the field and hold the majority of votes until ‘for the new Congress to be sworn in on January 3. Mr. Trump posted on social media that “Democrats seek to ram through their judges while Republicans fight for leadership.” THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.”

A few days before the deadline, the race for the post of leader of the Republicans in the Senate is deeply uncertain.

Mr. Thune and Mr. Cornyn are both well-liked, longtime senators who served as aides to Mr. McConnell and were considered frontrunners, despite past statements criticizing Mr. Trump. Mr. Scott — a longtime friend of Mr. Trump and fierce ally — was seen as more unlikely, but he has launched an aggressive campaign in recent days on social media and elsewhere in a bid to win endorsement of Mr. Trump.

Senators close to the president-elect, like Mike Lee of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida, have backed Mr. Scott, as have tech mogul Elon Musk and others who have Mr. Trump’s ear.