President-elect Trump may have to rely on acting secretaries to staff his Cabinet as a number of key nominations raise significant concerns among key Republican senators.
When Senate confirmations are in limbo, especially if lawmakers resist, presidents can put nominees in acting roles for at least 210 days. Trump did this in more than 20 Cabinet positions in his first term.
Trump’s nominees like Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary, among others, are sure to face resistance from Senate Republicans.
Hegseth, Kennedy and Linda McMahon, the president-elect’s pick for education secretary, are expected to answer questions from senators about allegations of sexual misconduct or enabling sexual abuse. Trump’s original nominee for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), dropped out of the confirmation process a little more than a week after his nomination amid allegations he denied having sex with minors has.
Senators will question other candidates like Gabbard about whether they are qualified for the role or have conflicts of interest.
According to a Washington Post, acting secretaries under the Trump administration had served a total of 2,736 days in 22 Cabinet-level positions as of February 2020 analysis.
During his first four years in office, Trump served more than three times as many incumbent officials as former President Obama served during his eight years in office. Under Obama, there were a total of 2,202 days when incumbent officials were in office.
“I could imagine a situation where he definitely does that, considering he’s already done it,” said a former Trump administration official. “I mean, Chad Wolf was there for how long?”
The official was referring to Wolf’s extended term as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which lasted 14 months. Some lawmakers pointed to his direction as a prime example of why they are concerned about the prospect of incumbent officials taking over leadership of some departments and agencies because Wolf has been unable to implement parts of Trump’s immigration plans.
A federal judge in slow 2020 invalidated His decision to restrict work permits through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for migrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children because Wolf did not have the legal authority to take such a step as acting secretary was not confirmed by the Senate .
“That’s always a concern right now,” a Senate Republican told The Hill. “Biden has had several acting, [and] There are some decisions that acting can’t make.”
The most glaring example of Trump’s penchant for relying on acting leaders can be found around the Office of Management and Budget, where Russell Vought served as acting director for a year and a half before receiving 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 was also largely dependent on acting secretaries in other parts of his cabinet. Patrick Shanahan became the Pentagon’s longest-serving acting chief, serving six months in office.
Some took on gigantic jobs, such as Trump’s last acting defense secretary, Christopher Miller, who took a trip to Afghanistan in December 2020 as the Trump administration worked to reduce U.S. forces in the country following Trump’s election loss that year.
Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler finally received full confirmation to lead the agency, but only after eight months of being given the title.
But sources indicate that the Trump world and the transition team are better prepared for this breakthrough and are not acting as haphazardly as they did in 2017, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, said The plan currently involves bundling departments and agencies to ensure that those reporting to a potential acting secretary can keep them running effectively.
“You will see people who may come into an agency who have never been there before, but the deputy secretary will be more experienced [and] more experienced,” Mullin said. “That’s why you’ll see it stacked.”
Acting roles are covered by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, meaning they are subject to its time limits and can only lead an agency until they need Senate confirmation.
As soon as a position becomes vacant, a momentary civil servant takes over can serve in the role for 210 days — or nearly seven months — although that time frame may be extended depending on the fate of a Senate confirmation process. If a candidate is rejected, the incumbent official can hold office for an additional 210 days, with the clock resetting while another candidate is considered.
President Biden’s acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, who served as deputy secretary before former Secretary Marty Walsh left the top post, failed to receive full Senate confirmation to replace Walsh after moderate lawmakers refused to support her nomination, which also met with general resistance from Republicans. This has resulted in her remaining in her current stance for the remainder of the Biden administration.
She could serve as acting secretary for an indefinite period However, because she has already been confirmed by the Senate for her role as deputy secretary, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said last year.
Despite his past, some expect Trump will not rely on acting secretaries since Republicans control the Senate by a three-vote margin.
“Presidents generally resort to recess appointments and acting leaders only after their own party has lost control of the Senate and they are politically stuck,” said Bruce Mehlman, a GOP lobbyist and former official under President George W. Bush. “I suspect that President-elect Trump intends to have his nominees confirmed by the GOP Senate.”
Additionally, selecting nominees who are sure to face tough battles for confirmation poses its own challenges for the entire administration and may serve as a distraction from other top attributes of the novel president.
A second former administration official during Trump’s first term warned that using political capital to support controversial candidates threatened the Trump agenda.
“This is also related to the obviously poor decision to postpone the 2025 funding with a CR to next year. “This will further complicate the confirmation process and divert time and energy from President Trump’s real agenda,” the second former official said. “As in combat, conserving resources should be the top priority.”
