https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/will-trump-pursue-bonkers-plan-to-adjourn-both-houses-of-congress/

Will Trump Pursue Bonkers Plan to Adjourn Both Houses of Congress? https://media.128ducks.com/file_store/838c577576ba8bd21a7fae6ec98c0f5aba635a809fbbf90f100bc84d5076c13d.png

https://media.128ducks.com/file_store/e89bee1f19296841d3e5d56f6b85cc7566c6b7c09f44ea461ba552969e40433c.png I’ve been hearing through the grapevine of a crazy plan in which Donald Trump would exercise his authority under Article II, section 3 of the Constitution to adjourn both Houses of Congress so that he could recess-appoint his Cabinet officials. Trump’s stunning announcement that he intends to select Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General lends credence to this rumor, as it is extremely unlikely that the Senate would confirm Gaetz.

The plan would require the complicity of the Speaker of the House in eviscerating the Senate’s advice-and-consent role.

Here’s a sketch of what I understand to be the plan, but I could easily be wrong on some of the details:

The Constitution provides that “[n]either House [of Congress], during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days.” (Article I, Section 5, clause 4.) Article II, section 3 provides that “in Case of Disagreement between [the Houses], with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, [the president] may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.”

Step 1: The House adopts a concurrent resolution that provides for the adjournment of both the House and the Senate. (The House rules expressly state that a concurrent resolution “may provide for the adjournment of … both Houses.”)

Step 2: The Senate either adopts the concurrent resolution, in which case it adjourns (jump to Step 4), or it rejects the concurrent resolution (proceed to Step 3).

Step 3: Trump adjourns both the House and the Senate for at least ten days (and perhaps for much longer).

Step 4: Trump recess-appoints his Cabinet officers.

For the reasons I have previously given, I think that this plan is an outrageous attack on the Senate’s core duty to approve or reject the president’s nominations of his top officials.

If Speaker Mike Johnson is aware of such a plan, he needs to repudiate it forthwith.