Washington — As Senate Republicans prepare to vote Wednesday on new leadership for the upcoming Congress, President-elect Donald Trump is already weighing in with demands for the new majority leader regarding his Cabinet.
After a decisive victory in the 2024 elections, Trump is returning to the White House with a GOP-led Senate at his side. Senate Republican leaders are expected to ease the way for the president-elect’s agenda and his Cabinet and judicial nominees. Trump has made it clear that he’d like his nominees to be installed immediately, suggesting that he may want the option to bypass the Senate’s advice and consent role entirely.
Trump weighs in on recess appointments
Perhaps the biggest factor remaining in the leadership race is whether Trump himself weighs in on the candidates. On Sunday, he stepped into the conversation, demanding in a Truth Social post that anyone seeking the position as leader “must agree to Recess Appointments.”
Recess appointments enable a president to temporarily install nominees without the Senate confirmation process. Trump argued in a post on social media that without recess appointments, “we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.”
“We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” the president-elect said.
The Constitution’s Recess Appointment Clause grants presidents the ability to “fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate.” The maneuver is considered to be a way to make swift appointments during the Senate’s absence, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, which notes that recess appointments have also been used for political reasons — for instance, to make an appointment on a temporary basis for an individual who would not be confirmed by the Senate.
With a GOP majority of at least 52 seats, Trump shouldn’t have too much difficulty getting his nominations through the chamber through the regular process. But pushback from a handful of Republicans like Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Todd Young of Indiana or Sen.-elect John Curtis of Utah could imperil some of his more controversial picks. The process could also be delayed by Democrats in the minority, who could rely on procedural maneuvers to extend the time it takes for Trump’s Cabinet to be confirmed.
But the recess appointment maneuver is a controversial one that both parties have combated in recent years. Recess appointments are allowed only when the Senate is out of session for 10 days. For the last decade, both chambers have headed off recess appointments by going into pro-forma sessions even when lawmakers are in recess. And a Supreme Court decision in 2014 gave the Senate more authority to prevent the maneuver, after controversial recess appointments by President Barack Obama.
If Trump were to make an appointment during a recess in the first session of the new Congress, the appointment could last for almost two years, after which the individual could be appointed again through a recess appointment or the regular process, according to the CRS report. But without the Senate’s approval, the appointee would not be paid.
Should Republicans force a change to procedure in the upper chamber, they would do so with the risk that Democrats will take the same steps in their favor when they regain the majority. Still, all three candidates for GOP leader threw their support behind Trump’s demand for recess appointments on Sunday.
The candidates for Senate majority leader
Whip John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, and Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, are considered the front-runners in the race to replace Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, has seen a surge of support from members of Trump’s orbit — from Tucker Carlson to Elon Musk — that has drawn increased attention to the race.
Thune, 63, is currently the No. 2 Republican and considered by some to be the favorite in the race. He’s been in the Senate since 2004 and served as GOP whip since 2021. But he hasn’t always had a strong relationship with Trump, and initially backed Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina for president in the GOP primaries.
Cornyn, 72, has been in the Senate since 2002 and previously served as the Republican whip from 2013 to 2019. His fundraising chops have made him a top candidate in the Senate leadership race. But like Thune, he’s previously distanced himself from Trump — a gap both senators have sought to close in recent months.
Meanwhile, Scott has been angling for the position. The Florida Republican challenged McConnell for the role after the midterm elections in 2022, when he earned the support of just 10 members of his conference. Scott is similarly expected to find support from some of the conference’s conservative members in this year’s contest, and the outside endorsements from those who claim Cornyn and Thune are too close to McConnell could be a boon.
Electing the “next generation of leadership”
The leadership election comes after McConnell’s decision to step away after 17 years at the helm, becoming the longest serving Senate leader in history.
McConnell’s decision to step aside and welcome “the next generation of leadership” teed up a high-stakes race for leader that has been shaking out behind the scenes since February. After Republicans flipped the Senate, the leadership race took on even greater importance.
“I had really hoped I’d be able to hand over to my successor the majority,” McConnell told reporters at a news conference last week. “I’ve been the majority leader, I’ve been the minority leader – majority’s a lot better.”
Outside influence and endorsements
The race, nine months in the making, has begun to draw input from outsiders in recent days. Tucker Carlson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are among the Trump loyalists who have weighed in to back Scott, urging that he is best suited to carry out the president-elect’s agenda.
How the input from prominent outsiders weighs on the race remains to be seen. Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doors to elect the new leader, casting secret ballots, which make senators less likely to be swayed by external pressures.
For months, the three candidates have been working behind the scenes to persuade their colleagues to back them for the chamber’s top post. And so far, just a small portion of the Republican conference has shared publicly who they plan to support.
Thune has the backing of Sens. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, along with Steve Daines of Montana, who chaired the GOP campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, this cycle and may have valuable sway with new members whose races he buoyed. Meanwhile, Cornyn has the support of Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. And Scott has the backing of Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. In recent days, he also earned endorsements from Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee — two senators who have been floated as possible picks for Trump’s cabinet.
The bulk of the conference has yet to weigh in publicly, and likely won’t be swayed by outsiders on a decision that will guide how the chamber operates for the next two years. But an endorsement of a candidate from Trump himself, who will work with the leader going forward, could change the dynamic.
Whether Trump endorses a particular candidate remains to be seen. Thune acknowledged on CNBC last week that Trump can “exert a considerable amount of influence” on the leadership race, but he cautioned him against doing so, saying, “I think my preference would be, and I think it’s in his best interest, to stay out of that.”
“He’s got to work with all of us when it’s all said and done,” Thune said. “But whatever he decides to do, that’s going to be his prerogative, as we know.”