President-elect Donald Trump's recent demand to Republican supporters in the Senate reveals worries about the loyalty of his own political party, a CNN legal expert says.
Trump's request that Senate majority leader hopefuls back recess appointments for his nominees suggests he has problems with Republican support, political analyst Mark Preston argued Monday morning.
"He's concerned that he may not get some of these folks through," said Preston. "There may be some Republicans that would push back against some of his more controversial nominees."
Trump's demand came in the familiar form of a caps-heavy X post published on social media this Sunday.
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“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote. “Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more.... We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!”
Recess appointments — a process that would allow Trump to bypass Congress — has the support of all three senators running in a secret-ballot election this week to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as Republican leader, according to a subsequent CNN report.
Preston said he'd been told Monday by "a very smart" Capitol Hill reporter with three decades' experience that Trump is not worried about a small number of controversial appointments.
"It's not just about the few people that he may get through right now," Preston said. "It's about him trying to put a slate of 100, 500, a thousand people through."
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Preston warned those problematic picks would skip a crucial step in the process if selected through recess appointments.
"What's most important about recess appointments," he said, "is that you are not vetted thoroughly by the U.S. Senate."
That's why Preston urged Americans to keep an eye on the mid-level appointments.
"We should really be focusing in on the worker bees," Preston said, "these political appointees to implement the Trump agenda."
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