Posted on 04/16/2020 4:40:19 AM PDT by EyesOfTX
This action is three years late in coming. – At the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing, President Donald Trump laid out the pattern of obstruction of his judicial and key administrative nominees that has been waged by congressional leaders of both parties for the last three years and three months. Throughout that period of time, both houses of congress have played a despicable game of refusing to declare themselves fully in adjournment even during times, like now, when they have left town for weeks at a time.
The game consists of having a handful of members present in either the House or Senate chambers to gavel the body into a “pro forma” session for a few moments each day before immediately adjourning until the next day. In this way, congress has for 39 months denied this President and this President alone the right to make recess appointments of administrative political nominees he needs to fill key positions within the executive branch of government. While congress has played this game for a few months here and there in the past, this effort to obstruct the proper staffing of a presidential administration for an entire term is unprecedented in U.S. history.
The President only mentioned Nancy Pelosi by name, but for two solid years this game was led by then-Speaker Paul Ryan in the House, and for the last 39 months, Mitch McConnell has played along as Senate Majority Leader. This is a classic case of the DC Swamp protecting the Swamp, with the Democans and Republicrats coordinating efforts designed to stymie an outsider President. President Trump, previously seeing no crisis and because McConnell had been moving quickly on his judicial nominees before the Wuhan Virus crisis hit, has played along in order to avoid a major conflict with McConnell.
But now we are in the midst of a crisis, one that requires all hands on deck to deal with, and the President finds himself running short of hands due to this disgraceful congressional obstructionism. Because of this present situation, Mr. Trump informed McConnell and Pelosi that the time for this game has run its course, and that, unless they agree to declare congress fully adjourned quickly, he will exercise his constitutional powers that exist under Article II, Section 3 to do so himself so that he can have his nominees, some of whom have been held up for years, in place and working.
Here’s a clip, followed by a transcript of his remarks:
stealth bubba @StealthBubba Watch Trump threaten to adjourn congress:https://youtu.be/s4F058Eb78Y
YouTube at 🏠 @YouTube
6:00 AM - Apr 16, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy See stealth bubba's other Tweets Transcript:
As the entire US Government works to combat the global pandemic, it is absolutely essential that the key positions at relevant federal agencies are fully staffed, and we’re not allowing that to take place through our Congress.
They’re just not giving it to us. We have many, many positions that are unstaffed because we can’t get the approvals. The Democrats are holding us up. We cannot get approval.
We’ve gotten judges because we go through the process. I guess we’re up to 248 federal judges that we’ve gotten because we focus on it. We take the maximum time because no matter who the judge is, they take vast numbers of days and hours until approve. It leaves, no time left for others. Very unfair system.
If a judge is going to be approved in one hour in one session, it doesn’t matter. They’ll take the maximum number of hours and days. You’re talking about days to get one judge approved, and we’re close to 250 judges, but because of the way they’re doing it, there’s no time for anybody else in. Many of these people have been waiting for two and a half years.
We have a couple that have been waiting for longer than that. There are currently 129 nominees stuck in the Senate because of partisan obstruction. Many are nominated for vacancies that must be filled to assist with the coronavirus crisis and the resulting economic challenges, and I’ve read over the couple of years, well, I didn’t fill positions. I don’t fill positions. In some cases we don’t need the position, and I’m all for that, but in many cases you do, but we can’t get them approved by the Democrats. They won’t release them.
The positions include the Director of National Intelligence, two members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Financial Markets of the United of the United states, and the Undersecretary of Agriculture responsible for administering food security programs. And Sonny Perdue, who’s going to be speaking today, saying, “Please can I have this man? Can I have this particular person approved as soon as possible?” He’s been telling me that for a long time, and the Democrats won’t allow it to happen.
Again, every single judge, every nominee we have goes through a maximum, or at least they go through a long process. So it takes days and days and there’s no time left and it’s just a concerted effort to make life difficult.
An example is Michael Pack. He’s my nominee for the CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and he’s been stuck in committee for two years preventing us from managing the voice of America. Very important. And if you heard what’s coming out of the voice of America, it’s disgusting. What things they say are disgusting toward our country, and Michael Pack would get in, he’d do a great job, but he’s been waiting now for two years, can’t get him approved.
The senators left Washington until at least May 4th. The Constitution provides a mechanism for the President to fill positions in such circumstances. The Recess Appointment, it’s called.
The Senate’s practice of gaveling into so-called proforma sessions, where no one is even there, has prevented me from using the constitutional authority that were given under the Recess Provisions. The Senate should either fulfill its duty and vote on my nominees, or it should formally adjourn so that I can make recess appointments.
We have a tremendous number of people that have to come into government, and now more so than ever before because of the virus and the problem. We have to do it, and we have to do whatever we have to do. They’ve made it very, very difficult to run government. I don’t think any Administration has done anywhere near what we’ve done in three and a half years, but every week they put up roadblocks, whether it’s Russia, Russia, Russia, or whether it’s impeachment hoax or whatever it may be. It’s always roadblocks and a waste of time.
If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both Chambers of Congress. The current practice of leaving town while conducting phony, proforma sessions is a dereliction of duty that the American people cannot afford during this crisis. It is a scam. What they do. It’s a scam and everybody knows it, and it’s been that way for a long time, and perhaps it’s never done before. It’s never been done before.
Nobody’s even sure if it has, but we’re going to do it. We need these people here. We need people for this crisis, and we don’t want to play any more political games. I’ve been waiting for two and a half years, three years for some of these people. And they’re great people. They left law firms, they left jobs, they gave up everything to do it, and they’ve been waiting for three years, two and a half years, two years, one year to get approved.
It’s ridiculous. And everyone knows they’re going to be approved, but there’s only so many hours in the day when you go through judges and you go through lengthy hearings on judges that they know should be approved immediately, and they could do it in one session, and they could do it in one hour. And instead it takes them many days.
[End]
For those who are curious, here is the full text of Article II Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution [highlights added]:
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Note that this is an authority that most believe no U.S. president has exercised, mainly because no U.S. president has ever faced the level of depraved obstructionism that President Trump has had to deal with. But the language is quite clear and unambiguous, and the present crisis certainly qualifies as an “extraordinary Occasion” as the framers of the Constitution envisioned.
Mitch McConnell, as is his habit, will no doubt take all of this in stride and attempt to negotiate some accommodation with the President that will be designed to protect the Senate’s authority here. But when San Fran Nan heard the President’s remarks, no doubt while setting next to her pair of $15,000 Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezers while enjoying a pint of her designer ice cream, this is what her head did:
Oh, this is gonna be glorious.
That is all.
Stafford Act to be imposed soon and its needs to be. Time to collect the trash!!
I bet Senator scummer had a bird at this one.
Interesting example. The Left likely knows what Trump would do, he would put someone pro-American in that position who wouldn't be touting unlimited open borders.
The Left, since the days of Joseph McCarthy who made an issue of it in his subcommittee back in the early Fifties, has been populated by anti-American Leftists. IIRC, they were peddling communist propaganda even back then.
Don’t yap about it...JUST DO IT.
Go Trump Go!
I wonder if this is partly psychological. The Senate is the bottleneck and it is nominally controlled by Republicans. I am puzzled why CM has been so good on judges but still prevents recess appointments. I’d like to believe (but would be crazy to do so) that Trump and CM worked this out ahead of time, to give cover to CM.
” You’re talking about days to get one judge approved, and we’re close to 250 judges,”
*****
THE REAL REASON WHY..
Adjourn Congress, make your appointments, then reconvene Congress. It’ll all be over in 30 minutes. They won’t know what hit ‘em. Then they’ll be forced to come back to DC and work.
Is it not FAR beyond time to adjourn and arrest the
treasonous in Congress working with China?
Amen!
Well, the rolling coup has to be ended at some point.
I suppose you could say, “let him get re-elected first”, since, if he loses, the coup will have succeeded.
But Congress is the real problem here. The President’s power to adjourn Congress is real but has been severely constrained by the courts’ acceptance of the “pro forma” sessions.
With such strong opposition to Trump in his own government, in the deep state and in the military, an order adjourning Congress “to a time he shall think proper” on the basis that the “pro forma” House sessions constituted a disagreement between the Houses as to adjournment would certainly provoke a strong challenge, one that would perhaps release all the kinetic energy that’s been building since January 2009 and finally bring the tanks into the streets.
Talk is cheap and in abundance around DC. Let’s see some doing.
Mr president F them
The More Controversial Purpose of Pro Forma Sessions
While doing so never fails to raise controversy, the minority party in the Senate often holds pro forma sessions specifically to prevent the President of the United States from making “recess appointments” of persons to fill vacancies in federal offices that require the approval of the Senate.
The president is allowed under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution to make recess appointments during recesses or adjournments of Congress. Persons appointed by recess appointments assume their position without the approval of the Senate but must be confirmed by the Senate before the end of the next session of Congress, or when the position again becomes vacant.
As long as the Senate meets in pro forma sessions, Congress never officially adjourns, thus blocking the president from making recess appointments.
However, in 2012, President Barak Obama made four recess appointments during Congress’ winter break, despite a run of daily pro forma sessions called by Senate Republicans. Obama argued at the time that pro forma sessions do not block the president’s “constitutional authority” to make appointments. Despite being challenged by Republicans, Obama’s recess appointees were eventually confirmed by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
During August 2017, the Senate held nine pro forma sessions to block Republican President Donald Trump from making recess appointments during Congress’ annual summer break. Senate Democrats, joined by some moderate Republicans, worried that Trump might dismiss then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and appoint his replacement during the month-long recess. At the same time, Trump had hinted that he might also appoint a new secretary of Homeland Security to replace John Kelly, who he had named his new chief of staff of July 31. The nine pro forma sessions—none lasting over one-minute, had been scheduled on August 3 by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. However, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said that the sessions were not intended to block recess appointments. “To meet our constitutional requirement of meeting every few days, we’re doing pro formas. We didn’t do it to block Trump,” McConnell’s aide said.
Effectively protected by the pro forma sessions, Attorney General Jeff Sessions went on to hold his post until November 7, 2018, when President Trump requested and got his resignation. Sessions had earlier angered Trump by refusing to place restrictions on the range of Special Counsel and former FBI director Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential election had been escalating at time.
Source: ThoughtCo at https://www.thoughtco.com/pro-forma-sessions-in-congress-3322325
We are ruled by adolescents.
The power to adjourn Congress has never, not one time, been used. Its used is, under the constitution that we don;t follow, conditional on the two chambers disagreeing on adjournment. Well, that disagreement doesn;t exist, and "on paper," both chambers are in session, not adjourned.
And yes, you are correct that the courts have accepted the pro forama charade. See National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning back in 2012. National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning. SCOTUS Opinion No 12-1281 (2014)
As to the final question, the Court concluded that Congress can restrict the President's ability to make recess appointments during recesses by holding "pro forma" sessions. As the Court explained, "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 Democrats do not have American interests at heart.
They are there to hurt the country with their actions.
Amen to that!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.