What are recess appointments? Here's what to know as Trump looks to fill his Cabinet

Almost two weeks have passed since now President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to return to the White House for four more years. In that time, Trump has begun to announce key hires for his Cabinet.

Some of his nominations have been controversial, including Florida Representative Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Many of the posts that Trump is beginning to fill require Senate hearings, as well as a majority vote in the chamber to be approved. With that in mind, Trump could look to an obscure clause in the Constitution that would allow him to, in a way, bypass the Senate to appoint his nominees.

Here is what we know about recess appointments.

What are recess appointments?

A nominee appointed by a president goes through a vetting and approval process usually done by the Senate.

This process can take a while. According to the Center for Presidential Transition, it took an average of 115 days for Trump's nominees to be confirmed in his first term.

That delay is permitted by the Constitution, as it allows for checks on presidential power and ruling out corrupt or unqualified candidates. But within that rule, there is an exception: recess appointments.

The recess appointments clause says that when the Senate is in recess, the president can make appointments temporarily without the approval or vetting process normally done by the Senate. The clause itself originated in a time when Congress did not meet as often as it does now.

According to the National Parks Service, most of the first six Congresses met twice a year with monthslong breaks in between.

The appointments are also temporary, only lasting until the end of a congressional session which are one year. But in order to go into recess, all senators would need to vote to recess, which could be blocked by senators concerned about nominees appointed by Trump.

Have any presidents done recess appointments before?

Recess appointments have been used by various presidents in the last couple of decades. And both Democrat and Republican administrations have used the tool to make appointments.

According to the Congressional Research Service, George W. Bush made 171 such appointments, while Bill Clinton made 139 and Barack Obama made at least 32 recess appointments.

But the process was uprooted by the Supreme Court in 2014, when justices ruled against former President Obama, calling multiple of his recess appointments unconstitutional and ruling recess appointments could only be made during a recess lasting 10 days or longer.

Trump has long been an advocate for recess appointments

The idea of recess appointments has been seen in a positive light by Trump for years now.

During his first term, Congress used "pro forma" sessions, or brief sessions of the Senate or House during which business is not usually conducted, to prevent him from making recess appointments.

In 2020, the then-President even threatened to deploy a never-before-used rule to force Congress to adjourn. This would have allowed him to make appointments without Senate approval, according to Reuters.

This year, following his election, he has publicly voiced his desire to use the recess appointments process.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have voiced their desire to confirm Trump’s nominees as soon as possible in the new year. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, elected as the Republican Senate Leader on Wednesday, voiced these sentiments on X.

"We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s nominees in place as soon as possible, & all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments. We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people,” he said on a social media post.

Contributing: Ashley Ferrer

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is a recess appointment? What to know as Trump voices support