Trump Threatens To Adjourn Congress Over Delayed Nominations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump Wednesday threatened to use a never-before-employed executive power to force both chambers of Congress to adjourn if the Senate did not allow him to fill vacancies in his administration.

The president spent part of Wednesday's coronavirus news briefing in the Rose Garden offering an explanation of how Senate Democrats were blocking his nominations.

"The Senate should either fulfill its duty and vote on my nominees or it should formally adjourn so I can make recess appointments," Trump told reporters. "We have a tremendous number of people that have to come into government. And now more so than ever before because of the virus and the problem."

When the Senate is in recess, the president can automatically appoint federal officials who would usually require Senate confirmation. Congress currently has an informal recess until May 4, but has not official adjourned, instead entering into "pro forma" sessions every few days.

"Perhaps it's never been done before, nobody's even sure if it has," Trump added. "But we're going to do it. We need these people here. We need people for this crisis, and we don't want to play any more political games."

Trump's administration has a history of vacancies across government, in part because Trump has refused to nominate full-time appointees to major positions, choosing instead to rely on officials in acting capacities.

You can read more about Trump's threat to adjourn Congress on The Hill's website.