I have already written about this problem. Is it real? You bet!
Like I said in the title of my article: "If Trump does this you know he is becoming a dictator and that's all!" Because this move likely would be the end of peace between the houses of Congress and Trump. They would try to force him out then for sure if they could like Nixon was forced out too!
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Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes ...
Most Referenced Twitter Jul 25, 2017
Trump rips Sessions over acting FBI director 02:27
Story highlights
- Mitch McConnell has not addressed the recess appointment issue publicly
- But GOP senators take the confirmation process seriously
(CNN)Is
President Donald Trump trying to force out Jeff Sessions as attorney
general so he can "recess appoint" someone to the job who would fire
Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller?
Sources
familiar with the President's thinking tell CNN that he is being urged
by some associates that a recess appointment is an option worth pursuing
in order to avoid a messy confirmation process in the short term.
Although
there are multiple political and procedural road blocks, the theory, if
he could find a way to pull it off, would be to install a new attorney
general while the Senate is in recess, which would allow that person to
stay in place through 2018.
A
new attorney general might be willing to more aggressively oversee
Mueller's probe into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia or fire the
special counsel outright, as Trump has suggested he wants.
But
the catch is that for a recess appointment plan to work, the Senate
would actually have to formally adjourn into recess, and Senate
Democrats are already working on strategies to prevent that from
happening.
So
spooked are Democrats that the audacious Trump might actually try to
pull off a switch, they are now speaking out publicly against it and
double-checking long-established procedures to make sure there is not a
loophole he can exploit.
"All
Americans should be wondering: why is the President publicly, publicly
demeaning and humiliating such a close friend and supporter, a member of
his own Cabinet? They should wonder if the President is trying to pry
open the office of attorney general to appoint someone during the August
recess who will fire Special Counsel Mueller and shut down the Russia
investigation," Schumer said in a floor speech Wednesday. "Let me say,
if such a situation arises, Democrats would use every tool in our
toolbox to stymie such a recess appointment."
The Democratic leader pressured Republicans to make clear such a move wouldn't fly with them either.
"I
can't imagine my friends on the Republican side and particularly my
friends in Republican leadership -- the majority leader and Speaker
(Paul) Ryan -- I can't imagine that they would be complicit in creating a
constitutional crisis," Schumer added. "They must work with us and not
open the door to a constitutional crisis during the August recess."
Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, who vigorously defended
Sessions this week against attacks from Trump, has not addressed the
recess appointment issue publicly.
But
GOP senators take the confirmation process seriously -- especially for
critical and sensitive posts like attorney general -- and might be
reluctant to clear a path for Trump to install a loyalist especially
when Trump himself maybe under investigation.
Sen.
John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking GOP leader, warned Trump
Wednesday that the recess appointment idea "would be a mistake."
"I
think Jeff Sessions is doing a good job, and I think it would be
incredibly disruptive and make it more difficult for the President to
accomplish his agenda," Cornyn told CNN's Manu Raju.
Sen Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, declined to comment on the recess appointment, but urged Trump to ease off Sessions.
"I
hope that the President reassesses and figures out that Jeff Sessions
is a very good man that does a very good job, and he ought to keep him
where he is," Hatch said.
In the
meantime, Democrats decided to "explore possibilities" to ensure Trump
can't find a way to force through a recess appointment, according to
Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat.
"I
don't know if it is serious but it has been raised in the press and now
we watch what he's doing to Sessions -- trying to hound him out of the
office," Durbin said. "It appears he has a plan in mind and we don't
want to make it any easier."
Partisan
disputes and deep distrust have prevented presidents from making recess
appointments for several years. It started under the George W. Bush
administration, continued under Barack Obama, and is still in place now.
Obama tried to challenge the
practice when he made a series of recess appointments, despite the
Senate meeting in pro forma sessions every three days. But the Supreme
Court ruled against him, saying the Senate was not technically on recess
unless it didn't meet for at least 10 days.
While
Republicans control the Senate now, the only way they can formally
adjourn -- which would set up a period when recess appointments are
allowable -- is to pass an adjournment resolution. The problem is that
Democrats can filibuster that resolution, which they have been doing and
plan to continue to do to prevent Trump from installing a replacement
for Sessions or make any other appointments.
So,
as has been the case for many years, when senators are away from
Washington for extended periods, a least one senator will trudge to the
chamber every three days to lead a brief gavel-in, gavel-out pro forma
session to prevent recess appointments.
Whether Trump tries to find a way around the court-tested practice remains to be seen.
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