Tensions are brewing between Republicans and Donald Trump.
They are becoming very agitated over one decision.
And the drama is building in D.C. as a standoff grows between Trump and his fellow Republicans.
Donald Trump picked some very controversial names for his Cabinet, and Republicans are trying to figure out what to do about it.
The Senate is responsible for confirming the people that the president puts up, and many senators have doubts about some of the various names that have been put forward by Trump in recent days.
Of course, the most controversial of these names, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, dropped out of consideration, and in fact announced that he is done serving in Congress altogether.
But there are others who different senators have questions about, and their confirmations may not be guaranteed.
One of the ways Trump has considered getting around that is through “recess appointments.”
This would effectively make all of Trump’s more controversial nominees the “temporary” head of their department, although in reality they wouldn’t be temporary at all.
Republicans in Congress are not happy about that move to bypass them, and they are pushing back on it.
According to The Hill, “Republicans are grappling with the idea that President-elect Trump could test the limits of his constitutional authority by appointing controversial picks to his Cabinet with recess appointments.
“One source who has spoken to Trump believes that idea — trying to forcibly adjourn Congress, even if the Senate does not affirmatively agree to do so — has been seriously considered in his circle.”
This is a move that would go well beyond the normal limits of presidential power, and that’s why many people have a problem with it.
Under the Constitution, Congress does not work for the president, although Trump may be looking to change that.
The article continues, “The prospect of Trump trying to exert that authority has started to circulate among Hill Republicans, causing alarm among some of them. They worry not only about Trump prompting a constitutional crisis, but the precedent it would set.
“‘Most elected people have a good understanding of the fact that at some point, Democrats are going to be in charge, and any precedent we set now, or any boundaries we try to push, are going to come back to bite us,’ one House Republican told The Hill. ‘People do not like this idea. This is a bad strategy to go down.’”
The concern is that it will give Democrats another tool to exert their own power on Republicans the next time they take power.
This could lead to a dramatic see-saw of federal policies from Republican to Democrat administrations, with Republicans implementing a very right-wing agenda and Democrats implementing an extremely left-wing one.
Right now, that is not possible thanks to Congress, which acts as a bottleneck for controversial things that the president might like to pass.
But Trump is trying to eliminate that bottleneck, which could benefit him, but also progressive Democrat presidents who come after him.