Trump tests GOP-led Senate with controversial Cabinet picks

WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump is setting up a test for the new Republican-led Senate on controversial Cabinet appointments. They're preparing to stand their ground.

Trump did not get involved in the chamber's high-stakes Republican leadership election Wednesday, from which U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., emerged victorious despite Trump allies supporting U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

But Trump did make one demand: That the next GOP Senate leader agree to "recess appointments," in which the chamber would adjourn and allow his appointments to be temporarily approved without an arduous confirmation process.

Wednesday afternoon, it became clear why.

Trump announced several controversial Cabinet nominees, including Democrat-turned-Republican Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, both of whom are outside of the traditional mold for appointees to their respective positions.

But it was the nomination of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general that most surprised the Republican senators who will be responsible for confirming Trump's nominees.

The firebrand House member – known for leading a cohort of right-wing members that voted to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the speakership last year – has been a staunch defender of Trump and a harsh critic of the Justice Department, which he would lead as attorney general.

The agency investigated him in a sex-trafficking case for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl and paying for her to travel with him, which he has strongly denied. The investigation ended without the agency filing charges, though the House Ethics Committee continued a separate investigation until Gaetz resigned from Congress Wednesday – just days before the panel was set to release a critical report about him.

The unusual pick immediately raised the question of whether Gaetz could get through the confirmation process in the Senate, which typically involves an FBI background check and public hearings in front of bipartisan committees with the power to demand additional information about nominees.

"I was shocked at the nomination," said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "Obviously it warrants a great deal of scrutiny by the Senate."

A majority of senators must agree to approve nominees in order for them to be confirmed, and the moment he appears unlikely to get support from enough GOP senators. Republicans will soon control the chamber 53-47.

"Matt still has to come to the Senate and get confirmed, and a lot of that stuff's going to get brought up," said U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who has criticized Gaetz in the past but said on CNN Wednesday that he "completely" trusts Trump's decision. But asked whether Gaetz has the votes to get through the Senate, Mullin said: "It's going to be very difficult."

But most senators indicated they will only give in to Trump's request to bypass the confirmation process – one of the chamber's most significant roles, intended to serve as a check on the president's power – if Democrats are the ones that stop Trump's nominees from moving forward.

Thune has said "all options are on the table" to get Trump's appointments confirmed quickly. But he indicated Thursday that he doesn't intend to skip straight to recess appointments.

Asked Thursday whether he thinks Gaetz could make it through the confirmation process, Thune said, "we don't know until we start the process."

"That's what we intend to do with him and all the other potential nominees," he said. "We expect our committees to do their jobs and provide the advice and consent that is required in the Constitution."

Scott of Florida told USA TODAY that all three of the leadership candidates agreed to recess appointments during the election Wednesday. But U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who also ran for leader, said they did not discuss whether they would give up that power if there isn't enough Republican support for a nominee.

"I think the preference is to do it through the normal process," Cornyn said. "The only real question is will (now-Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer and Democrats blockade the nominees and prevent the president, whose got a mandate, from getting the team in place that he needs in order to perform the functions of his office."

Still, Trump remains a clear power broker in the party and few sitting Republicans are willing to openly oppose him. He has an option he could try to exercise if the Senate doesn't go his way.

In the past, Trump has threatened to use a Constitutional power that no president has used before to adjourn Congress to fill his Cabinet positions. But doing so would force senators to first clear the 60-vote threshold to adjourn, which would require Democratic support.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump tests Republican senators with controversial Cabinet picks