President-elect Trump may need to rely on the acting secretary to make Cabinet appointments, as a number of key nominations have raised serious concerns from key Republican senators.
If Senate confirmation stalls, especially if there is opposition from lawmakers, the president has at least 210 days to slip a nominee into an acting role. Trump did this in more than 20 Cabinet-level positions during his first term.
Trump's nominations of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary are certain to face opposition from Senate Republicans. .
Mr. Hegseth, Mr. Kennedy and the president-elect's nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, are all expected to respond to questions from senators about allegations of sexual misconduct and enabling sexual abuse. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), who was originally nominated by President Trump to be attorney general, was withdrawn from the confirmation process just over a week after he was nominated amid allegations of sexual relations with minors. The person himself denies it.
Senators plan to question other nominees, like Gabbard, about their suitability for the role or whether they have a conflict of interest.
Under the Trump administration, the acting secretary had worked a total of 2,736 days in 22 cabinet-level positions through February 2020, according to the Washington Post. analysis.
In his first four years in office, Trump appointed more than three times as many acting officials as former President Barack Obama did during his eight years in office. Under the Obama administration, acting officials served a total of 2,202 days.
“I definitely expected a situation where he would do that because he has a track record of doing that,” said one former Trump administration official. “I mean, how long has Chad Wolf been there?”
The official noted that Wolf's term as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has been extended for 14 months. As a prime example of why some lawmakers are concerned about having acting officials take over the reins of some departments, Wolf has failed to implement parts of President Trump's immigration plan. He pointed out his instructions.
Federal judges at the end of 2020 disabled The decision to restrict work permits through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children was made by the Secretary of State, rather than Mr. Wolf's Senate confirmation. This was because he had no legal authority to make such a move on his behalf.
“That’s always a concern right now,” one Senate Republican told The Hill. “Biden did some acting, [and] You can't make some decisions in acting. ”
The most notable example of President Trump's tendency to rely on acting directors centers around the Office of Management and Budget, where Russell Vought served as acting director for a year and a half before winning full Senate confirmation. He served in that role while then-OMB Director Mick Mulvaney assumed the role of acting White House chief of staff.
Trump also relied heavily on acting secretaries in other parts of his Cabinet. Patrick Shanahan's six-month tenure made him the longest-serving acting Pentagon chief.
Trump's last acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, has taken on major missions, such as his visit to Afghanistan in December 2020, when the Trump administration was working to reduce the number of US troops in the country following its defeat in the presidential election that year. There were some people.
Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler finally won full approval to lead the agency, but before that he was labeled acting for eight months.
But sources indicate that President Trump's world and transition team are more prepared for this course correction and are moving less haphazardly than in 2017. said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), the top Trump supporter on Capitol Hill. Current plans include stacking departments and agencies to ensure that those under potential acting heads can continue to operate effectively.
“There will be people coming into the agency who haven't been there before, but the deputy chiefs will be more experienced.” [and] It’s more seasoned,” Marin said. “So you’re going to see it stack up.”
The acting role is subject to the Federal Vacancy Reform Act. That means agents are subject to term limits and can only operate an agency for a limited period of time before Senate confirmation is required.
When a vacancy occurs, an acting staff member will assume the position. can serve The term is for 210 days, or nearly seven months, but that timeline could be expanded depending on the outcome of the Senate confirmation process. If a candidate is rejected, the acting official can serve for an additional 210 days and the clock is reset while another candidate is considered.
Julie Su, President Biden's acting labor secretary, who served as former Secretary Marty Walsh's deputy before he left the top post, was elected to replace Walsh in the Senate after moderate lawmakers refused to support his nomination. It failed to gain full approval, and this also led to opposition from the entire Republican Party. This led to her maintaining her current position throughout the remainder of the Biden administration.
However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced last year that she could serve as acting administrator indefinitely because she had already been confirmed by the Senate for that role.
Despite his background, some predict that Mr. Trump will not rely on the acting director, given that Republicans control the Senate by three votes.
Bruce Melman, a Republican lobbyist and former senior official for President George W. Only later.” “I think President-elect Trump is going to get his nominee confirmed by the Republican Senate.”
On top of that, choosing a candidate who is certain to face tough confirmation battles could pose unique challenges for the entire administration and distract from the president-elect's other key assets.
A second former administration official from President Trump's first term has warned that spending political money to support controversial candidates will jeopardize his policies.
“This is also related to the clearly wrong decision to postpone 2025 spending until next year with a CR, which further complicates the approval process and takes time and energy away from President Trump's real agenda.” will be taken away,” said a second former official. “As in combat, conserving resources should be the top priority.”
