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Three Republican senators vying for the Senate majority leader position quickly responded to President-elect Donald Trump’s demands regarding recess appointments and nominee confirmations on Sunday.
Trump took to social media platform X to outline his requirements, emphasizing that any Republican seeking the leadership role must support recess appointments to ensure swift confirmation of his Cabinet picks.
🚨 BREAKING: President-elect Trump officially weighs in on the race for Senate GOP leader.
He said they must agree to recess appointments to approve his picks quick & early.
I am betting Rick Scott can 100% commit to this. @SenRickScott @ScottforFlorida pic.twitter.com/xKPPojiw6c
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 10, 2024
“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. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again,” Trump wrote on X. “We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!”
“Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership,” the president-elect added. “THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!”
Florida Senator Rick Scott promptly aligned himself with Trump’s position, garnering support from tech billionaire Elon Musk. Despite Senators John Thune and John Cornyn being considered frontrunners, Scott has accumulated endorsements from prominent Trump allies, including Marco Rubio and Vivek Ramaswamy.
“We need a Senate Majority Leader who will make reducing our debt a top priority,” Scott wrote on X. “That means NO more trillion-dollar omnibus packages full of wasteful spending.”
Thune responded by issuing a statement committing to explore all options, including recess appointments, while Cornyn pledged to maintain Senate sessions until Democratic opposition subsides.
Trump major appointments:
Lee Zeldin EPA administrator
Elise Stefanik UN ambassador
What do you think of these nominations? pic.twitter.com/meKOoZCHVQ— Knowledge Hack (@schazan) November 11, 2024
“It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump’s cabinet appointments,” Cornyn wrote on X. “If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent. Additionally, the Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.”
The leadership contest emerges as Democrats, holding a single-vote majority, rush to confirm Biden’s judicial nominees before Trump’s inauguration. The position opened following Mitch McConnell’s February announcement of his planned retirement from Senate leadership after the 2024 election.
