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  • The Atlantic

    The Flaw in the President’s Newest Constitutional Argument

    At a technical, legal level, Donald Trump’s proposal to force Congress to adjourn doesn’t hold up.
    by Adam J. White Apr 17, 2020 4 minutes
    Source: Marzolino / Shutterstock / The Atlantic

    Updated at 12:00 p.m. ET on April 17, 2020.

    President Donald Trump seems to think he’s found a loophole in the U.S. Constitution. After years of understaffing his administration—in part the result of Senate Democrats delaying the confirmation process, but also the result of the president and Senate Republicans prioritizing judicial appointments and other business—the president suddenly is keen to fill vacant seats in his administration unilaterally, through “recess appointments.” And because the Senate isn’t currently in a constitutional recess, Trump plans to recess it himself.

    The theory centers around the Constitution’s , which provides that the president “may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement.) Trump seems to think that he can use this power to unilaterally dismiss both the House of Representatives and the Senate for a time of his choosing, thus allowing him to make recess appointments (per ) at his pleasure.

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