President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to adjourn Congress in an unprecedented action to fill vacant federal positions he says are relevant to the coronavirus crisis.
During the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Wednesday, Trump said that the Senate should either approve the nominees he's submitted, or adjourn the pro-forma session so he can "recess appoint" them.
Republicans Congress began holding pro forma sessions, even when they aren't working, under President Barack Obama's administration to prevent him from using recess appointments to fill vacancies without approval from the Senate.
"If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers of Congress. 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," Trump said at a White House briefing. "It is a scam what they do."
Trump accused Democrats of using procedural objections to eat up time while confirming judges to vacant positions. The Constitution grants the executive branch the power to adjourn Congress - but only if the two chambers disagree with each other. It's a power that has never been used before in the history of the republic and has never been invoked.
"Perhaps it's never been done before. Nobody's even sure if it has. But we're going to do it," he said. "We need these people here."
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to downplay Trump's threat to adjourn the senate's pro-forma session. In a statement released by McConnell's office on Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican said Democrats in the Senate would have to agree to adjourn to allow recess appointments. The Senate can only adjourn if a unanimous consent of all senators, or by a vote on the floor. In order for a vote to be called, all 100 senators would need to be recalled to Washington D.C., a move that is unlikely to happen amid the coronavirus crisis.
"The Leader pledged to find ways to confirm nominees considered mission-critical to the COVID-19 pandemic, but under Senate rules that will take consent" from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a McConnell spokesman told NBC News.
Recess appointments are used by presidents when Congress is out of session and unavailable to approve nominees. However, recess appointments are only allowed to serve for the remainder of the two-year congressional session.
Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution states that the president "may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper."
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