Jonathan Bernstein: “The most important thing to know about President Trump’s out-of-nowhere threat to adjourn Congress and make recess appointments because Democrats are blocking his executive-branch nominees isn’t whether he can do it or whether he should. It’s that his complaint is entirely untrue: Democrats aren’t blocking his executive-branch nominees.”
“This is just basic Senate procedure. Republicans hold a 53-to-47 majority, and also win tie votes because they hold the vice presidency. That means they have majorities in every committee, and they schedule final confirmation votes for every nominee who clears those committees.”
“To be sure, Democrats can still stall this procedure … for two hours. So it’s entirely fair for the president to complain about that delay.”
