Senate lawmakers risk allowing the presidency's powers to continue expanding unless they can restore a "vital check," according to a new editorial.
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board argued in a new op-ed on Sunday that dysfunction in Congress has atrophied the advise and consent process, one of its core checks on presidential power. The process allows Senators to confirm presidential appointees by a voice vote, also known as unanimous consent. A majority of presidential appointees in the last three administrations have been approved by unanimous consent, according to the editorial.
President Donald Trump's administration has had to staff some executive offices with temporary leadership because of this logjam, the editorial adds.
"As Congress sinks further into dysfunction, the Presidency keeps getting stronger," the editorial reads in part. "The advise and consent role the Founders gave the Senate remains a vital check. Across-the-board obstruction and feeble acquiescence are defining it down."
The roadblock Democrats have created is a headache for the GOP and the Trump administration, according to the editorial.
"The GOP’s understandable frustration is creating real pressure to do, well, something," the editorial reads. "Mr. Trump has juked the vacancy laws to keep U.S. Attorneys on the job despite no confirmation votes, which is being challenged in court. He has urged the Senate to take a holiday and let him make recess appointments en masse."
"But that would be a dereliction of the Senate’s constitutional duty, and it would leave the GOP no way to save Mr. Trump from his worst impulses," it adds. "Think Attorney General Matt Gaetz."