OAN Staff James Meyers
10:15 AM – Friday, November 15, 2024
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune has assured the public that “all the options” are on the table to get President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks through the confirmation process, amid concerns that some appointees might not receive enough votes.
In the last few days, Trump has announced his choices for the key cabinet positions, from Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) being nominated as attorney general, to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as the incoming Health and Human Services secretary.
Thune (R-S.D.) appeared on Fox News, where he explained that Senate Republicans are going to do everything they can to “see that he [Trump] gets his team installed as quickly as possible.”
“All these people have a process that they have to go through. All these nominees are — it’s a — you know, advice and consent. That’s the Senate’s constitutional role when it comes to confirmation of nominations to the executive branch of the government. And we take that role seriously,” he said. “But we also are not going to allow the Democrats to obstruct or block President Trump and the will of the American people.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers on both sides have expressed their surprise at Trump’s choice of Gaetz for the role of U.S. attorney general. As a result, Gaetz resigned from Congress days before the House Ethics Committee was set to hold a meeting on its investigation into him. Gaetz’s supporters maintain that the “deep state” is doing everything they can to hurt Trump’s cabinet picks.
However, one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), told reporters that she didn’t think Trump’s AG choice was a “serious nomination.”
“We need to have a serious attorney general and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card,” she said.
Thune was asked about using “recess appointments” to get Trump’s picks through Senate confirmation if there aren’t enough votes for the nominee to get confirmed.
“Recess appointments,” according to the Associated Press, allow a president to fill vacancies while the Senate is out or in recess.
“Well, it’s an option, but obviously, it takes, you know, you have to have all Republicans vote to recess as well. So the same Republicans that you mentioned that might have a problem voting for somebody under regular order probably also have a problem voting to put the Senate into recess,” the South Dakota native noted. “You have to have concurrence from the House. There’s a process. All this is a process. But I don’t think any of those things are necessarily off the table.”
“I think we have to have all the options on the table. And these nominees deserve their day in court. They deserve a hearing, a confirmation hearing, an opportunity to be vetted. And the Senate will perform its constitutional role under advice and consent. But we are not going to allow the Democrats to thwart the will of the American people in giving President Trump the people that he wants in those positions to implement his agenda,” Thune continued.
Additionally, the South Dakota Republican added that the confirmation process for a few of the nominees may be a tall task, but that the people gave Trump a “mandate” for change with his Electoral College and popular vote wins, despite Washington, D.C.’s preferred choice, Kamala Harris.
“The people in this country want change. He [Trump] wants to bring that about. And I always believe that you defer to a president when it comes to the people they want in their cabinet,” Thune said.
“But obviously, there is a process whereby we get down and scrub all these nominees and figure out whether or not, one, they’re qualified and are the people who are fit to hold these offices.”
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