Trump loyalists face battle to win over ‘p—ed off’ Republican senators
Donald Trump loyalists are facing a battle to win over “p—ed off” Republican senators who will control the confirmation of the president-elect’s top team.
Tensions have already emerged between Trump insiders and the more moderate wing of the party just days after the incoming president’s election victory.
Those close to Mr Trump want to install Rick Scott, the Florida senator and Trump ally, to lead the Senate and water down the powers of Congress.
Mr Scott has been endorsed by allies of the president-elect including Elon Musk, the Tesla billionaire, and Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host.
Mr Trump has not explicitly endorsed a candidate in the contest to replace Mitch McConnell, the outgoing leader, with a vote scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
However, the election of a Trump loyalist would be a significant boost to the incoming president before he takes office in January and would diminish a rival power base outside the White House.
‘Traitors’
MAGA – Make America Great Again – activists have begun targeting Mr Scott’s rivals, John Cornyn and John Thune, and called those who refuse to fall into line behind the Florida senator “traitors”.
Dan Scavino, the president-elect’s social media head, shared a tweet from Mr Thune dating from October 2016 in which he calls for Mr Trump to end his presidential campaign.
The Republican would go on to beat Hillary Clinton the following month.
“If your Senator has not vocally supported Rick Scott, they’re likely voting Thune/Cornyn,” Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist, wrote on social media.
“This will become a major issue down the line if one of them wins. Grassroots won’t forget this.”
However, Mr Scott is seen as a long-shot candidate to succeed Mr McConnell and attempts to browbeat senators appear to be backfiring.
The campaign is “p—ing off senators whose votes Rick needs”, a Republican Senate aide told Politico. “Senators do not take kindly to having an army of social media trolls attack them.”
Nevertheless, Mr Cornyn and Mr Thune have been at pains not to isolate the Trump-aligned wing of the party, particularly in the wake of his election victory.
None of the candidates have pushed back against Mr Trump’s recent appeal for powers to make administration appointments without seeking Senate confirmation.
“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,” the president-elect wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled immediately!”
‘All options are on the table’
The Senate typically must confirm hundreds of presidential appointments, meaning it can block unpopular or controversial candidates.
However, if Congress passes a motion to go into recess, this means the president can make a temporary appointment for a maximum of two years.
This is despite the fact that the Republicans have regained control of the Senate after four years, flipping formerly Democrat seats in Montana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Appointments need a simple majority to pass, meaning Democrat support will not be required.
Mr Scott quickly took up Mr Trump’s call, pledging on social media to “do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible”.
Mr Thune did not rule out the measure, telling Fox News that “all options are on the table”. Mr Cornyn suggested he would support the move if Democrats blocked cabinet appointments, noting: “The Constitution expressly confers the power on the president to make recess appointments.”
It is unclear if there will be a backlash from the wider party, since the Senate tends to be more independent than their counterparts in the House of Representatives.
In their two terms in office, Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments, George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, and Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments.
In 2005, for example, Mr Bush used a recess appointment to install John Bolton as the US’ permanent representative to the UN following a five-month stand-off with Senate Democrats.