FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Schumer and most other Democrats have stood back and let Republicans fight among themselves over picks like Gaetz and Hegseth.
Just hours after voting for the next majority leader, Sen. John Thune issued a warning to Democrats regarding the upcoming confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees.
" We take this role seriously, but we also will not allow Democrats to obstruct or block President Trump and the will of the American people ," the South Dakota Republican said Nov. 14 on Fox News.
The Senate's advise-and-consent process depends almost entirely on the majority, with any obstacles the incoming administration faces from its allies. The Trump transition team learned this the hard way with the failed pick of Matt Gaetz for attorney general.
The former House member lasted just eight days as a candidate before bowing to the reality that, in addition to unified opposition from the incoming 47 members of the Democratic caucus, many Republicans opposed Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and absenteeism. of his prosecutorial experience.
Since Senate Democrats forced the rule changes in late 2013, when they were also in the majority, executive branch appointments no longer require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
The minority side can ask questions at confirmation hearings designed to embarrass a nominee and can use some procedural tactics to delay matters for a day or two, maybe even a week. But there is nothing to stop the Senate majority from confirming nominees to the Cabinet or other federal agencies — except members of the president's party who oppose those confirmations.
This became clear early in President Joe Biden's term, when Democrats held a 50-50 House majority on Vice President Kamala Harris' vote, and yet Republicans felt powerless.
Barrasso has been elevated to the Senate majority in the upcoming Congress, making him a key player in rallying support for Trump's nominees. He has promised to start hearings as soon as a majority is sworn in on January 3 and confirmation votes as soon as Trump is sworn in on January 20.
Some of Trump's early picks lack relevant experience. Transportation Secretary-elect Sean P. Duffy served almost nine years in the House of Representatives focusing on banking issues on the Financial Services Committee, previously serving as the district attorney in northern Wisconsin. Duffy never served on the Transportation Committee. While he has attracted little opposition so far, senators will be curious to know his views on those issues.
Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, paid a woman who seven years ago accused him of sexual assault as part of a non-disclosure agreement. The Fox News personality has denied any wrongdoing, and some top Senate Republicans have expressed confidence but moderate optimism about his confirmation.
Some of Trump's picks will likely win Democratic votes, especially Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), the pick for secretary of state.
GOP leaders can learn from incumbent Joe Biden and outgoing Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) on how to confirm a cabinet.
With Schumer at the helm in early 2021, Biden became the first new president in 40 years to confirm all of his primary picks for traditional Cabinet posts. And, they were all confirmed less than two months after Biden took the oath of office, faster than Trump's first term and Barack Obama's, both of whom were unable to hold a full House meeting. cabinet until their fourth month in office.
Cabinet fights were once uncommon. Not only did Reagan confirm every cabinet pick, the Senate approved all 14 within two weeks of his inauguration.
In 1989, Senate Democrats fought the nomination of former senator John Tower to be secretary of defense, leading to a rare Senate vote that rejected a nominee. President George HW Bush then removed Dick Cheney from the House of Representatives and he won confirmation on March 17, 1989, completing the senior Bush cabinet.
In 2001, when the Senate was also deadlocked 50-50, President George W. Bush won unanimous support in the Senate for 12 cabinet picks, with all 14 decided in less than two weeks.
This less partisan era also came when cabinet elections could have been thrown out, but almost never were. Democrats eliminated that 60-vote barrier in 2013 after Republicans used that tool to block some of Obama's agency and judicial nominees.
By the time Trump took office eight years ago, cabinet picks had turned into a permanent political battle. In early January 2017, shortly after taking office as minority leader, Schumer vowed that any Trump nominee who was "outside the mainstream" would face a massive fight from Democrats.
" We will fight them tooth and nail, " he said at the time.
Each candidate faced a roll call vote — bypassing the tradition of allowing a simple vote for those who faced no opposition, and only Trump's pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs won unanimous support.
Now, as he prepares his return to the Oval Office, Trump is bolstering his campaign conversation with Cabinet picks who have unconventional biographies for the departments they are slated to lead.
Schumer and most other Democrats have stayed in the background and let Republicans fight among themselves for choices like Gaetz and Hegseth. / Adapted "Pamphlet" from "The Washington Post".
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