On Friday, January 20, President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he wants to be able to confirm at least some of Trump’s cabinet nominees on “day one of his administration.”
Republicans have repeatedly pointed to the then-Democratic controlled Senate confirming seven nominees for President Obama shortly after his inauguration in 2009 as a guidepost for the incoming Trump Administration.
However, Senate Republican leadership will likely need to broker a deal with Democrats for any pending nominees to be approved by Friday. Senate Democrats are unlikely to block any of Trump’s cabinet picks without some crossover Republican support, but they can use procedural tactics to hold up confirmation votes for days.
At a minimum, Republicans are hopeful to have in place critical members of Trump’s national security team on day one, including the Secretary of State, Director of the CIA, Director of National Intelligence, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Attorney General.
This week will also feature another wave of committee-level confirmation hearings, including Steve Mnuchin for Secretary of the Treasury, the cabinet position with direct oversight of the Internal Revenue Service, on Thursday, January 19. Independent Sector will be submitting questions for the record to the Senate Finance Committee for Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing to learn more about the nominee’s experience and knowledge with respect to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.
Source: The Hill
Jamie Tucker is the director, public policy strategy and operations at Independent Sector.
