President-elect Donald Trump has faced furious backlash for wanting to fill his Cabinet through recess appointments, but he would not be the first president to use the controversial method. In fact, the precedent was set by none other than Barack Obama.
President Obama made "routine" use of recess appointments, Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow told America First with Sebastian Gorka.
Normally, the president nominates officials and the Senate votes to confirm.
With recess appointments, the president can unilaterally appoint officials without input from Congress.
The Constitution allows the president to fill all vacancies that "may happen during the Recess." While the recess appointments power was meant to ensure the smooth functioning of government, it has been used by presidents in recent years to overcome opposition to political appointees.
Some of Trump's Cabinet picks, such as Matt Gaetz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have faced furious pushback in Washington. But Trump could get his polarizing nominees appointed "because of the idea of a recess appointment, which, until Barack Obama, was rarely used," Marlow said.
"But Obama used it for routine appointments that weren’t going to get through the Senate. So, now, the precedent’s there and Trump can do this.”
Trump's insistence on using recess appointments has sparked backlash, with critics accusing him of an unconstitutional power grab - but he is not the first president to use them.
According to the Congressional Research service, President Clinton made 139 recess appointments, George W. Bush made 171, and Barack Obama made 32.
Trump did not make recess appointments during his first term.
The first Supreme Court ruling on recess appointments came in 2014, when the court unanimously rebuked Obama for filling the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was holding "pro-forma" sessions, meaning the Seante was not actually in recess.
“For purposes of the Recess Appointments Clause, the Senate is in session when it says that it is, provided that, under its own rules, it retains the capacity to transact Senate business,” the court ruled at the time.
The newly elected Senate Republican leader, John Thune (Sd.), has said recess appointments are "on the table" after Trump demanded that all leadership candidates agree to use them.
"We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s nominees in place as soon as possible, & all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments. We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people," Thune said.
