Trump threatens to adjourn Congress if Senate does not confirm his nominees

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 16 (PTI) US President Donald Trump Wednesday threatened to adjourn the Congress if the Senate did not confirm his nominees, whose absence is hampering the smooth functioning of his administration.

"If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers of Congress," Trump told reporters at his daily White House news conference on coronavirus.

Expressing his frustration over the Senate not confirming his scores of key administrative nominee, Trump said if the House of Representatives and the Senate are not in session, he can use his power to appoint individuals during recess.

"The current practice of leaving town while conducting phony pro forma sessions is a dereliction of duty that the American people cannot afford during this crisis. It is a scam what they do. It's a scam and everybody knows it and it's been that way for a long time," Trump said.

Currently 129 nominees are stuck in the Senate because of partisan obstruction, Trump alleged, adding that many are nominated for vacancies that must be filled to assist with a coronavirus crisis and the resulting economic challenges.

Some of the prominent positions include the Director of National Intelligence, members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and the assistant secretary of treasury for financial markets of the United States.

The Constitution, he said, provides a mechanism for the president to fill positions in such circumstances through recess appointment.

"The Senate's practice of gavelling into so-called pro forma sessions where no one is even there has prevented me from using the constitutional authority that we are given under the recess provisions, he said.

Trump said that the Senate should either fulfill its duty and vote on his nominees, or it should formally adjourn so that "I he can make recess appointments".

"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. We have to do it and we have to do whatever we have to do, he said.