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A since-deleted post raised eyebrows and ire on social media as the potential for recess appointments prompted questions of who was really in charge in Washington, D.C.

Having stepped aside at the age of 82-years-old, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Republican leadership torch has been passed to 63-year-old South Dakota Sen. John Thune. So X users were understandably surprised when New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer quoted the legislator ruling out recess appointments entirely.

In her post, which was preserved by Florida’s Voice Assistant News Director Eric Daugherty, Mayer stated, “Message to Trump Team: ‘There will be no recess appointments’ Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight at a Washington gathering.’”

The writer was called out by, among others, Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) who reacted plainly, “McConnell is no longer the Senate GOP leader.”

Sharing screenshots, Daugherty wrote in part, “something sketchy is going on.”

Noting the post had been deleted, “AFTER a sitting US Senator…and basically the entirety of X got wind of the news,” the news director went on, “It is a SEVERE F-up for a reporter with a news organization to somehow devise a quote up out of nowhere and attribute it to the wrong person. The event is reportedly in DC, and this reporter is based there. Why delete it? And NO retraction OR correction is listed on her account. Was she given a command by a higher up because of the blowback?”

Prior to the secret ballot to name the successor to McConnell, whom President-elect Donald Trump had in the past referred to as the “Old Crow,” Trump had addressed the importance of recess appointments no matter who would lead the upper chamber.

“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!),” the president-elect said in part, “without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.”

Though he lost the bid for the position, Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) responded to another post from Daugherty assuring against the quote attributed to McConnell, “Yes, there will be.”

Likewise, newly-minted Senate Leader Thune maintained “All options are on the table” to see Trump’s nominees make it through the confirmation process, “including recess appointments.”

While the Senate could refuse to recess, Axios reported that were the House to recess, the Constitution permitted Trump to adjourn all of Congress.

Neither Trump nor President Joe Biden made recess appointments following a 2014 Supreme Court ruling requiring 10 days of recess by the Senate, but their predecessors Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton had 32, 171, and 139 respectively according to the Congressional Research Service.

Meanwhile, the furor over the potential for establishment senators keeping the president-elect from advancing what many considered to be a mandate, having won the electoral college, the popular vote, and securing both chambers of Congress with his victory, continued on X.

Kevin Haggerty
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