Speaker Mike Johnson leaves the door open to recess appointments
By: NBC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Nov. 17, 2024, 8:38 PM UTCBy Alexandra Marquez and Frank Thorp V
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 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 on Sunday said, "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."
To allow the recess appointment process to take place, the House and Senate would have to both vote to adjourn for a period of at least 10 days, which would either require them to agree unanimously to do so, or would require both chambers to vote on a concurrent resolution to adjourn for a specific amount of time.
Both chambers usually gavel in for pro forma sessions even during times of recess specifically to prevent the president from making recess appointments and bypassing congressional approval.
President Barack Obama once tried to use recess appointments and was rebuked by the Supreme Court, which said in 2014 that recesses needed to be 10 days or longer for recess appointments to be legal.
Johnson isn't the only Trump ally who has left the door open to using a recess appointment to confirm Trump's Cabinet picks.
Also on Sunday, Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin told NBC News' "Meet the Press" that confirming some of Trump's picks would be a "very difficult" process, and thus recess appointments would be a "last resort."
"It'd be the absolute last resort," Mullin said. "But if that's what we have to do to get the confirmation through, then absolutely, let's do it. But I would say that would be last option."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Sunday said that Democrats would try to push against GOP efforts to make recess appointments, telling NBC News' "Meet the Press," if Republicans try to bypass the usual Senate confirmation process, "we will work very closely with our Senate Democratic colleagues. I have great trust and respect in [Senate Majority] Leader Chuck Schumer and [Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman] Dick Durbin to make sure that no end runs can be done."
On Sunday, Johnson also spoke about Trump's pick for attorney general, former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz is under scrutiny after he resigned from the House last week in the wake of his nomination to Trump's Cabinet.
While serving in Congress, he was the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations, but senators on both sides of the aisle have called for the committee's report to be released publicly or shared with them privately ahead of his confirmation vote.
Johnson had previously advocated against the release of the report and on Sunday told CNN, "What I have said with regard to the report is that it should not come out, and why, because Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress. He is no longer a member. There's a very important protocol and tradition and rule that we maintain that the House Ethics Committee's jurisdiction does not extend to nonmembers of Congress."
He added that senators will "have a rigorous review and vetting process in the Senate, but they don't need to rely upon a report or a draft report, a rough draft report that was prepared by the Ethics Committee for its very limited purposes."
Johnson also said that he has not spoken to the president-elect about the ethics report.
"I have literally not discussed one word about the ethics report, not once, and I've been with him quite a bit this week," Johnson said.
Alexandra Marquez
Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Frank Thorp V
Frank Thorp V is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the Senate.
Syedah Asghar contributed.
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So much for checks and balances.
there's no checks and balances interfering with that weaselly thumper's future theocracy ...
Congress: Quiet! We'll play like no one knows we are here and cede our authority as a co-equal branch of government. That way, the people will not know how bad these appointees really are.
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I'm beginning to wonder how some NT members have the chutzpah to be critical of China's government.
wonder how some NT members have the chutzpah to be critical of China's government.
It hasn't murdered tens of millions of people within living memory. It hasn't forced women to have millions of abortions and isn't running concentration camps as part of a genocidal program against a population it wants to extirpate.
need more reasons?
A lot of nations have a history with regrettable incidents, even yours, but since I'm talking about what we can expect over the next four years, I won't bother to point out your comment's hypocrisy, since I've had to do so too many times already.
America is supposed to be a democracy.
Trump wants to turn it into an autocracy.
He didn't get a mandate. It was close.
Won't stand for a fascist America under Trump.
His cabinet picks are a lame, sick joke.
Talk about recruiting from the swamp!
What will you do?
Guess I'll just have to get more active in politics and try to convince low IQ fascist folk what a terrible, terrible mistake they have just made by beating some sense into their thick braindead skulls.
(Guess that might not be the best approach.)
It does actually seem, however, that by Trump's choice of cabinet members, that some are figuring it out for themselves that he really shouldn't be president of the United States. Much less a dogcatcher in a tiny one-horse town in bumfuck Idaho.
Future American elections will look like Belarusian elections. Good luck with that.
I do not see what can be done.
That's the point: the fascists WANT to demonstrate their willingness to subvert the Constitution.
Agreed. They prove that their loyalty to Trump is much stronger than their loyalty to the US or its Constitution.
What a great country we lived in
We really did. I always thought that the writers of the Constitution were very far-seeing, making sure that we had a 3-part government with checks and balances built in, to prevent any one branch from having too much power, and limiting the power government as a whole has over an individual. If one branch decided to go rogue, the good people employed in the others would keep that branch or official in check. Because surely, those branches would be populated by mostly good people.
They overestimated us. Well, some of us.
Although I'm not schooled on American constitutional law, what it looks like to me when all three levels of control are in the hands of one party, and both Congress and the SCotUS are sympathetic to the President, it seems to me to be a situation where the President might very well become a dictator in the true sense of the word. That should be a scary thought for the American people, unless someone could fill me in with why that can't possibly happen. Don't say the American people would never allow it, because as far as I know, and I hope I'm wrong, they just did.
So... we have a Canadian who lives in China... who does a better analysis than most talking heads.
That says everything that needs saying, about American media.
Quite the fuckins, ain't it? I hope to hell it isn't.
'some' of the American people Have allowed it to be a far better possibility than anyone should be comfortable with. it is embarrassing, the ignorance of our country. The 'man' stated his plans, and his cult just were somehow okay withit, didn't realize it was really a possibility, or just don't know what the fck theyb were doing by electing this scumbag, Again ! WTF
Then they carry on with how bad Biden/Harris were....yet can't tell US how the economy is to be made better or where all these murdering illegals are....they bought into Trumps Bullshit, hooker , line , and sinkers, and we are left to deal with the aftermath and it is not what this country is, or is about
This should be prevented by the Bill of Rights, if all is functioning as it should.
However, the GOP no longer even blinks when Trump raises the possibility of using his office and even the military to punish the press when they speak out against him, or his political opponents for being, well, opponents. They clearly do not care that he threatens to violate the First Amendment.
Well, I am sure the Resident Reight will get him if he does try and violate the 1st Amendment.../s I will let our readers decide...
I'm very confidant that someone that takes their oath to defend the constitution seriously will prevail ...
Only if it's their 1st Amendment rights. They don't care about yours or mine.
Well Obama had 32 recess appointments.
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That's about right.
Clinton had over 100 recess appointments.
that's what all the lawfare noise was about. it's the maga excuse for trump's revenge and retribution bullshit.
I say go for it maga, and watch what happens next ...
and as you pointed out previously, Bush abused it by 171 appointments
but none of the worst offenders did it at the beginning of their term.
They were all reacting to Congressional gridlock.
trump has to use recess appointments, even though he has a senate majority, to evade FBI background checks.
Actually, it was Obama who abused it. He declared a recess when there wasn't one.
It is my understanding that prior to that instance there was no rule defining exactly what length of time the congress had to be out to make your statement true. The SCotUS later made the ruling of 10 days not in session.
in which
You yourself wrote or reprinted that Obama used the privilege 34 times in eight years.
That wasn't abuse in the real world compares to Bush's 171 times in the same length of time.
Take off the blinders.
You might find this interesting reading.
No other politician has tested the boundaries?
Isn't that the purpose of SCOTUS?
Recess appointments are as old as George Washingtons Administration because the government was often
in recess for geopolitical reasons.
With todays modern travel, electronic communications etc, it should be put aside as an unnecessary antique
but neither side will relinquish the rules BS.
BTW I could not find a chart, but Wikipedia references Reagan's 240, Lil Bushs 171, PawPaw Bushs 77, Clinton's 139.
Obama's 34 only made the list because he forced SCOTUS to clarify the recess rules and determine a 10 day limit over 4 recess appointments made in 2012.
"A clear rebuke..." "A power grab"
too funny considering who made the remarks and their subsequent "appreciation for the rules" in the following years.
Thanks for the article.
Exactly.
But now that we've read a little we understand that the number of recess appointments has changed dramatically in recent years because the rules governing what constitutes a recess have been more clearly defined. So comparing Clinton to Obama, for example, would make no sense because they operated under different rules.
It's also nonsensical to compare presidents without also analyzing the variable of whether their party or the opposing party controlled the Senate. Clinton, for example, faced an opposing Senate in 6 of his 8 years. Obama had just the opposite situation. GHWB never had a Republican Senate, whereas GWB had one for four years.
So basically I think we agree that this has been going on since the foundation of our republic and it's kinda silly to suggest either side has some sort of moral high ground on the practice.
But Obama was dealing with the very far right-wing tea-party at the time that wanted to hang him for being an uppity nigger.
Funny how the racist red-neck tea-party morphed into MAGA.
the teabags pissed me off so much, I sold off my AK because they were just too tempting, but I did have some fun with them in my gmc yukon (with no damage to the under carriage) before I sold it ...
that thumper wimp doesn't have the votes to accomplish anything in the house ...
Mike Johnson reminds me of Harry Potter but with less than a tenth of the brain power of a fictional character.
he reminds me of a typical thumper, that's a sunday school child molester ...
LOL, checks and balances with this motley crew, impossible.
Unbalanced check-books are not good!
By design, of course.
trump writes the checks and the taxpayers pay the balance ...
Its not really up to Johnson since the Senate would have to also agree to recess appointments, but dont expect any more backbone there.
there's no courage available within those senate republicans neutered by maga, without a secret ballot ...
Be careful what you wish for republicans, it will come back to bite you in the ass.
Democrats have still yet to figure that out. Maybe Republicans are sinking to that level.
The incoming administration have reached a level lower than a two hole outhouse.
After the next 4 years, the Dems could run a rotting corpse and they will win easily.
hell, the next 2 months are going to be touch and go, the way he's shitting thru his teeth in the media ...
great, an election with equally offensive candidates ...
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but, but, but, what about ...
Either Johnson is incredibly stupid and doesn't understand that it's not the Senate's job to merely act as a rubber stamp for every presidential appointment, and automatically consent and "move" them along, or, he actually does know better but sees his role as that of a trump toady and obedient servant instead of a leader of one chamber of a co-equal branch of the government. In reality, he's an incredibly stupid toady.
I vote for being a lovely little toady
he reminds me of the preacher's kid that spent grammer and middle school recess' climbing trees to retrieve his slacks ...
he's nothing but another dumb ass thumper crusader ...
they think geezus is running late for the second coming and it's up to them to kick start armageddon ...
Johnson and his toadies want to usher in Christian Nationalism. That's why they all turned their eyes away from trmp's character flaws. He's merely a means to an end. He's going to be surprised when he finds out he's been used
sexual assault seems to be running a close second to blind loyalty in cabinet nominations. is a biblical pattern developing?
Weeelllll......
he's one of those 7 mountain thumpers that will end up being part of the 8th mountain when they breach the 1st.
a good number of trump's picks also have some anti-semite pasts ...
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Apparently, Mike Johnson thinks he is Speaker of the Senate.
He wanted a doggie biscuit
He is a religious fanatic, he thinks he is everything.
there's only 2 people standing in his way to becoming his savior's divine representative of geezusland ...
Yep.
[deleted][✘]
I know what his last super should be ...
bread and water
his genitals ...
apparently, he understands that the house will also play a role in creating the adjournment that will allow for recess appointments.
Yep, I wondered why Johnson's opinion would be newsworthy at all?
always front page on "the xtian times" ...
Conformations are not up to the House, but rather the Senate
And the Speaker cannot adjourn the Senate or even the House without the approval of the Senate
Article I, Section 5, Clause 4:
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Adjournment of Congress | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
Read article II section 3 and you will see Johnson and the house’s role.
A lot of information contained therein - can you be more specific as to how the Speaker plays a role in the adjournment of the Senate if the Senate leadership disagrees?
Thanks in advance
Adjourning Congress: The President can adjourn Congress in the event of a disagreement between the two houses over when to adjourn.
Sean
Thank you, I had missed that.
Should Johnson and Trump do this, I feel confident that they will sacrifice any chance of getting agenda items passed through the Senate - as the on the fence Republicans will not vote him
So once again Johnson is speaking out of his butt
Trout
Maybe not see above couple comments
I can only read your comments. I don't see any of your comments denying he's speaking out of his butt. I could be wrong.
Sean pointed out that Art 2 Sec iii gives the president the ability to adjourn congress if the speaker and the majority leader are in disagreement.
I said that would be a very bad idea
I agree
Oh that is quite the visual.
I can't find the bullshit filter in the site's settings ...
Remember when MAGA was so offended that we said Trump was a threat to democracy? Now, he wants to bypass Senate review of his appointments so he can just have his way, no questions asked. Silence the representatives of the people.
MAGA: "Stop saying he's a threat to democracy!"
Every thinking person: Why? He clearly is.
trump's blowing political capital prior to his inauguration as if he won in a landslide. is politically bankrupt a thing, or even possible?
I don't think he's spending anything. He's pumping up MAGA.
his mouth is writing checks his office can't cash ...
Who cares if they bounce? That might be important if there were a tomorrow.
There is no tomorrow.
try laying down and closing your eyes when it gets dark outside ...
I'm not the one who's in denial, here. We are close-up witnesses to the end of democracy in America, but most Americans are carrying on as though nothing special was happening.
you're the one that seems to be in denial, of american history. trump hasn't been inaugurated yet. he hasn't made a move against the constitution yet. we still have some of what's left of equal justice in the judicial system and he and his sycophants have failed to disarm the populace. in our history we've defeated a theocratic aristocracy, white supremacists, corporatism, fascism, communism and theocracies at the cost of many american lives. the constitution will hold, as long as those that attempt to breach it can be held accountable by multiple safeguards built into the document. if the 3 branches of government fail to uphold the constitution, the 2nd amendment contained within it empowers the average american to destroy those that threaten it. the logic of the framers created a document that provides for individual freedom, but it also can become a hunting license, and a death warrant, for those that attempt to alter it outside of it's prescribed means to change it. their efforts to seek protection from the very document they wish to destroy is already doomed to failure.
I think its really going to depend on whatever bulkhead the GOP senators can provide, assuming a few of them are willing.
Trumps cabinet picks are , on the whole worse and more alarming than many people thought they would be. Pam Bondi, the alleged "much better" AG pick than Gaetz, is a 2020 election denier who has talked about investigating and prosecuting the investigators and prosecutors who indicted Trump.
There are a half dozen nominees who are nutjobs at some level, totally abnormal for a presidential cabinet. Yesterday Trump nominated Russell Vought, a co-author of Project 2025, to the important gateway position of Management and Budget. Vought is a true believer MAGA hardcore who has been quoted saying he wants to destroy "the deep state" (as if there was one) . Project 2025 is still at the forefront of the Trump agenda. It could get real ugly, especially if the GOP establishment continues to let Trump steamroll them. A betting man would probably bet on that.
Yeah, the labor pick is anti right to work and supports amnesty. A gay soros crony at treasury. An ultra progressive at health and human services.
Right out of the project 2025 playbook. Commence hyperventilating and fainting
I watched the undercover video of Russell Vought. He is a menace, and Trump appointed him to the job he wanted. For people to claim the 2025 agenda is not in play is laughable.
I sincerely hope you're right.
The same job he had for four years and barely made a ripple. Did you even know who he was between 2016 and 2020?
Now he's the boogeyman. Why not? The left needs one like they need oxygen. I guess it is his turn.
laim the 2025 agenda is not in play is laughable.
It's 1000 pages long. Of course there will overlap at some point. It would be literally impossible for any laundry list of Republican not to. If Haley or Romney won, you could say the same thing. The only thing that matters is the substance of the policies themselves.
For years now, we have seen the Republican Party giving Trump whatever he wants. I see indications that the situation will get worse. I see no signs that the situation will get better.
But hey!
There must be something new to panic about today.
I wish I was privy to the talking points they are ordered to parrot. I could use the heads up to be ready for the daily melt downs.
nobody can match the maga meltdowns here ...
... and you don't need to look too hard for the examples.
I've been convinced to change my opinion on Trump picks. They should all be confirmed and sent to work as soon as possible. We don't even need a real confirmation process, Trump won and the electorate spoke. They want chaos then we should give them chaos.
Noem can round up all the brown people and spike house and grocery prices even higher. Wasn't America better with a smaller middle class? Gabard will make it so our 'allies' stop sharing intelligence with us and Gatez can gut the FBI and the DoJ so when the next terrorist attack happens we can say it's the price we pay for freedom. Kennedy can gut the HHS and when the next pandemic happens we'll lose more MAGA bet hey they won't be compelled to vax. Bergum will allow oil spills in our national parks. Getting the government to pay for clean-up will be offset by the money the companies pay for their land lease. Those will make for interesting vacation photos. Less IRS workers means less taxes collected, coupled with tax cuts America would be great again...again. Broken bridges, potholes and all!
Fox talking heads will have no real power. They will still be talking heads, with a mission of going on the media as lighting rods, protecting the President.
The actual work of destroying the federal government will be done by Heritage Foundation-trained staffers.
Then we should make it as easy as possible to get that done. Tear it all down and burn it to the foundation. Then when they have thoroughly pissed off enough people the next generation can rebuild it better and more robust. For us now... let's give America the chaos it voted for.
Why do imagine that there will ever be another election?
With actual voters, that is. We'll have elections the way Belarus has elections.
that's my 4 year prime directive for maga ...
Yes sir, evil we will make America great again.
... one unamerican victim at a time.
Buy stock in whoever makes Ivermectin.
last mile services are also very trendy. a budget crematorium would be more profitable ...
Actually, it may Mean MORE taxes get collected
Someone needs to clean their own house first.................
Your link does not support my point and if everyone agreed with Ernst that government workers be compliant in the areas they oversee then that would eliminate too many of Trump's picks and we don't want that. So no. Let's give them immunity and let them all play video games and watch porn in the office.
Or hey... I just had a brilliant idea. Let's fire them all and have Musk setup an AI to do the job! AI doesn't need to get paid or take breaks.
Have you got anything to support that?
No, I'm converting to MAGA now. I don't need proof. I only have to believe it's true. The Godless Liberals are making claims so let's get these picks pushed through ASAP and get on with America's business!
So no. Noted
I'll be starting my "project last supper" for maga the first time trump wipes his ass with the constitution ...
Wasn't that already a movie or two?
Breaking news:
Good
I agree. Now he needs to go back to Florida and become an unknown entity
that might be complicated. isn't that where his 30 year old bride lives?
I didn't know he was married to a woman that old
he's in his mid 40's ...
He's headed to Newsmax to shill for Trump.
he needs to keep his face in front of the cameras so that he can run for governor. his maga supporters will forget all about his past child sex trafficking by then ...
"oh honey, I told my two 17 year old nieces they could stay with us when they visit florida ..."
Newsmax is the best he could do?
it's in the maga media comedy circuit ...
FOX's budget for employing sexual predators went to pay off other settlements ...
OAN still hasn't financially recovered from their out of court settlement ...
he needed somebody that could cross state lines without raising any eyebrows ...
gee, I wonder how many days into the new year that thumper wimp johnson will last as speaker with a 1 or 2 seat majority?