McConnell plans to block Biden's cabinet picks unless they're Republicans

[Arazi]

Get ready for hardball (and all acting secretaries) motherfucker

Link to tweet

?s=19

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. Eff that traitor.

He doesn’t get to appoint a cabinet.

[Boogiemack]

63. No Trump already proved confirmation by the Senate is not necessary. Biden can name

"Acting Heads" for his entire tenure if he wants to and can rotate "acting head" for as long as he wants to. There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents it.

[lagomorph777]

75. Exactly! We're playing by McConnell Rules now. Confirmation is optional.

Fuck Moscow Mitch.

[Statistical]

80. Exactly. Republicans have played the "letter of the law" game for 30+ years now

while Democrats always strive for the intended meaning of the law.

Yes Mitch can block any confirmation and equally acting heads can do anything and everything a confirmed cabinet official can do (except ironically maybe invoke the 25th against Biden).

[Drahthaardogs]

84. It's CALVINBALL!

Lol

[Nexus2]

2. And so it begins.

[bullimiami]

3. Uh no.

[joshcryer]

4. This is what he was elected to do, btw.

[Volaris]

50. Nailed it.

[JI7]

5. Hopefully he will drop dead from the rotting happening before our eyes

[MrsCoffee]

28. Glad someone else said it.

Cuz I certainly thought it.

[llmart]

32. I've posted it a couple times already.

I'm not afraid to say it either. Hopefully he drops dead before he can do much more damage.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

41. Andy Beshear will appoint a Democrat to fill the seat until an election in 2022.

Not a bad trade I would say.

Karma baby. Pay McConnell a visit.

[llmart]

44. Yep.

That's exactly why I want him to drop dead - hopefully while he's holding forth with some of his b.s. and we can watch it on C-Span.

[roamer65]

58. THIS.

[bdamomma]

79. Yes

he will probably do that in the "well/floor".....you can figure out the rest.

[DUgosh]

6. Interim appointments

We’re good enough for them

[mdelaguna]

9. +1

[treestar]

13. All Acting Secretaries!

[TheBlackAdder]

21. Yep. Cheetolini set the precedent.

[JHB]

59. And Mitch himself gave it the stamp of approval

By the way, aren't there a whole bunch of shady political funding deals that need looking into? Y'know, without interference from Russian assets?

[onenote]

65. Not really. The acting cabinet secretary must have been confirmed to another position.

If you check Trump's acting cabinet heads, you'll find that they were previously confirmed by the Senate to some other position (e.g. Deputy Secretary).

[onetexan]

66. BINGO!!! 2 can play this game!!

[uponit7771]

77. Yep

[Maeve]

7. Someone else has pointed to Rep Senators from Dem Governor states

That should put an end to that

[Newest Reality]

8. Well, he has a big head start on "rotting in Hell".

[FM123]

10. I guess President Biden is going to have to appoint a lot of "acting" cabinet members

til we can finally take the Senate. I don't see him bowing his head to Moscow Mitch....

[Hoyt]

11. Can't Biden make Recess Appointments? Make GOPers stay in Washington.

Plus, I think Biden can appoint Acting Directors, etc. Judges will be tougher.

[obamanut2012]

26. Yes

[PTWB]

31. No

McConnell won’t put the senate in recess specifically because he doesn’t want Biden to do that.

[Hoyt]

34. Fine, keep them in Washington for 2 years and appoint Acting agency heads.

[FBaggins]

42. Not taking a formal recess doesn't mean they stay in Washington

They just hold pro forma meetings every couple days and they’re technically not in recess.

[ahoysrcsm]

96. Dems stay in Washington and force a floor vote on all our projects...

we win by majority vote of 48 - 1.

Hey, a guy can dream can't he.

[FBaggins]

37. Only if McConnell plays along

What do you expect?

[4Q2u2]

12. I guess

That nice new Aluminum plant and all those jobs in KY will just have to disappear.
So Sorry Mitch.

[EndlessWire]

20. LOL! n/t

[roamer65]

14. 2022.

[BSdetect]

15. I thought that he ceded cabinet appts to POTUS?

Of course he can reverse that easily.

[Freethinker65]

16. Trump set precedent with Acting heads. Bring it!

Plus, Biden will nominate qualified competent professionals.

[DUgosh]

17. I hope republican senators

Have wonderful Thanksgiving feasts with lots of guests

[Rice4VP]

18. Whatever

[bdamomma]

19. How obstructionist

of the turtle. Bastard.

Moscow Mitch is still and continues to a bastard.

[EndlessWire]

23. First thing I'd do

Is dump Mitch's wife from her job.

[bdamomma]

81. yes

she has enough money rolling in from China.

[madaboutharry]

22. I don't buy this.

I think this is bullshit.

[Liberal In Texas]

24. I hope President Biden doesn't waste a lot of time trying to do bipartisan work

with these repubs. If his time as Obama's VP should tell him, they won't work with him so why even waste time trying?

If we don't get the Senate at least even, Biden will be governing by EO.

[Bettie]

25. Who didn't see this coming from miles away?

McConnell will ensure that nothing comes to the floor for two years.

There will be no cabinet appointments or any other business except the right wingers bloviating about whatever they choose to.

It is how Moscow Mitch runs things. He has ultimate veto power over everything, it seems that the leader of the senate is the most powerful person in the government.

[YessirAtsaFact]

30. No, Biden can appoint acting cabinet members and start re-staffing the government

He can also start reinstating all of the environmental regulations that Trump has removed.

He can rebuild DOJ with a good acting AG.

He can sic the anti-trust division of DOJ on Facebook.

[Bettie]

40. Yes, he can

but I don't expect any of them to be senate-confirmed. They will be "acting" until we take the senate back.

[Bettie]

47. Yes, he can

but I don't expect any of them to be senate-confirmed. They will be "acting" until we take the senate back.

Because Moscow Mitch thinks that he is king.

[onenote]

68. There are limits on who can be appointed an "acting" cabinet department head.

Under the Vacancies Act, that person has to have been confirmed by the Senate to another position. Trump's appointed previously confirmed deputies as acting secretaries.

[Buckeyeblue]

27. I suspect this is the start of some negotiations...

Also, there are a lot of Republicans up for reelection in the Senate in 2024. Maybe not all of them would want to be seen as obstructionist.

[Bettie]

48. They are also stuck between a rock and a hard place

if they don't obstruct everything, they are likely to receive a Q-Anon primary challenger as a bonus!

So, I hope many of them go down in flames, because there are no longer any moderates in the Republican party.

[NewJeffCT]

61. 2022 is a tough year for Republicans

Dicky Burr in NC
Kelly Loeffler's seat in GA
Russian Asset Ron Johnson in WI
Toomey is retiring in PA, so open seat
Little Marco Rubio in FL
Chuck Grassley in IA (87 years old now - will he retire?)
Russia Rand Paul in KY
Tim Scott in SC

[Buckeyeblue]

67. Seems like there is 4 (maybe 5 with Grassley) that we could make a realistic run at

[ecstatic]

29. No. The terrorist, hypocrite traitor has to go

No more negotiating with that asshole. He either needs to do his job or leave. Enough!

[kairos12]

33. Trump rules are in place. Who cares what the Senate says.

[itcfish]

35. Then Biden must

Appoint "provisional" cabinet posts just like Trump

[Ferrets are Cool]

39. This x 1000

[BernieBabies]

36. The Senate will always be a bigger problem than the Electoral College

There are too many artificial boundaries around arbitrary pieces of land from 150 years ago.

The only solution is for people to move to the purple states and turn them blue.

[Ferrets are Cool]

38. Just die already McTurtle

Sheesh, do something good just ONCE in your farked up life.

[smirkymonkey]

76. +1000

I so want him dead and gone. He is evil personified. I actually think he is more evil than Trump, and that's saying a lot.

[tavernier]

43. We now know that president has unlimited power,

according to all the repubs in the last 4 years. So Joe can do whatever he damn well pleases as he flips them a big bird and his sparkling smile.

[lark]

45. Fuck McTurtle.

Acting cabinet members can stay on and be reappointed again can't they?

[Bettie]

49. The only "compromise" the modern Republican party accepts

is utter capitulation.

There are no Republicans who will step out of line. None.

ETA: SO, any agenda that gets enough Republicans to allow it to pass is not going to be a Democratic one.

[theaocp]

93. That framing will spell disaster in 2022.

Hang on to your butts. I recommend saying WHATEVER IS NECESSARY to lay everything bad in this world at the feet of the Republican PARTY. All of them. At all times. Blare to the heavens about how everything is their fault. When something is your fault, pivot to why it's a Republican's fault instead.

Or try to work with people who will do that to you. They're gonna stab you in the back.

[NYC Liberal]

51. They do what Biden tells them to do. Doesn't really matter anyway.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

52. Have all his picks re-register as Republicans...

...then they can switch back after they’re confirmed.

Hey, if we want to take the Turtle literally it would work.

[Boogiemack]

53. Who cares. Biden doesn't have to abide by any rules of the Senate. Trump proved that.

Just make the appointments.

[dalton99a]

56. Precisely. Fuck the McConnell Senate

[dalton99a]

54. Bypass the traitor and tell him to go fuck himself.

[Marthe48]

55. Appoint senate r's from states with Dem gov

Have the Gov's appoint Dems to take the Senate seats.

On top of that, go ahead, appoint r's, and let them sit in an office somewhere. Mr. Biden can do the actual work with the people he wants to work with.

Or, impeach mcconnell. He's got the power of a turd full of cheese. It is past time to get rid of his one man obstruction. There is too much damage to be undone to put up with his power mongering.

[roamer65]

57. Guess the state of KY doesn't need federal money.

I have no problem with cutting it.

[tritsofme]

83. Do you think the president has unilateral power to do such a thing?

[roamer65]

85. The House can eliminate it from budgets.

The turtle wants to play hardball, so can we.

[tritsofme]

90. Such a bill would still need to passed by the Senate.

Making the threat entirely empty.

[Leith]

86. No, of course not

That's the purview of the House - currently in Democratic control under Nancy Pelosi.

[tritsofme]

91. She can't zero out funding for any particular state by herself either.

And for some reason, I don’t think the Republican Senate majority would pass this bill and send it to President Biden for signature, do you?

[Leith]

92. She can hold up any Senate bill that benefits Kentucky or Turtle

Let him get a taste of his own medicine for once. If he objects, tighten regulations on import transportation from China.

Biden can remind the world that Obama wanted to tell the public about Russian election interference, but McConnell threatened him if he did.

There are others way to put the squeeze on that partisan jerk.

[mtnsnake]

60. Gimme a fucking break. That is nothing but fake news bullshit.

Joe Biden is going to put whoever he wants in his cabinet and shove them down McConnell's throat. Good grief.

[Hav]

62. So much BS going around

The tweet talks about centrist Dems and names actual Democrats and you change that to Republicans? That some interesting understanding of Democrats.
Secondly, don't believe every bs on social media.

[Boogiemack]

69. Tit for tat: Block my Cabinet, I expand the SCOTUS and you forced me to do it!

This is playing hardball and I hope that Biden is up to it.

[Codeine]

70. He can't expand SCOTUS without Senate control. nt

[PubliusEnigma]

71. It's funny that McConnell still thinks the old rules apply. He ended that.

Now he can reap the whirlwind.

[lastlib]

72. First, nominate McTurdle to be Secretary of Rotting Turds To Be Flushed.

That'll get him out of the way at the start.

[RichardRay]

73. Nominate them, get them approved, ignore them.

Just don’t invite them to meetings, keep them off email lists, don’t issue them secure cell phones, put offices to the basement.

[romana]

74. Name GOP senators from Dem states, then. /nt

[Upthevibe]

78. "Acting" heads....I wouldn't even put anyone up before them if they have

the ability to block. I don't know the exact rules but as we've seen McConnell changes them at will and we KNOW they frickin' will if they can.

[Statistical]

82. As Trump has proven the senate has zero actual power over the President in anything other than

supreme court justices.

Half of Trump's current cabinet has never been confirmed. It has done exactly zero in restraining Trump. I hope Biden doesn't fall for this game. Name who you want, if Mitch won't confirm them make them an "acting head" and move on.

[Happy Hoosier]

87. Follow the Trump model....

"acting" appointments.

[durablend]

88. I'm sure Biden gives a shit what McConnell thinks

I'm envisioning he and Kamala saying "Oh well, McConnell's not going to let us do anything so we'd better just sit out the next couple of years. No use fighting it."

[theaocp]

94. There's quite a bit between those two endpoints.

Biden has given every indication that he wants to reach out. I think that's a poor idea. I hope he doesn't.

[Hotler]

89. Our first test to see if we have what it takes to stop playing nice-nice. nt