The results of the US presidential election have clearly accepted Donald Trump as the next head of state. While Joe Biden is now busy preparing for his departure, the American government is preparing to form a new administration, of which Trump’s swearing in is only a small part. According to the new president, an important part is the process of selecting and appointing ministers. While in India ministers are required to be deputies, in America all ministers are the President’s choice (recommended), but their approval is required by the Senate, a process that prevents the President from making arbitrary appointments in the case of Donald Trump really possible? Let’s understand this fully.

Appointment to Cabinet
In America, ministers are called secretaries and the names of their departments also differ somewhat from the common names. There the Foreign Minister is also called Secretary of State. And the finance minister is called treasurer. Such important appointments are called cabinet appointments. These appointments also include heads of key agencies in the country, such as the CIA and FBI, who do not have the rank of minister. The Senate normally approves the names proposed by the president, but can reject the controversial name if desired. Therefore, it is important that the president’s party has a majority in the Senate.

What is provided for in the constitution?,
In a country like India it is necessary for a minister to be an MP, in America there is no such requirement to become a minister. Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution makes clear that the President, although he is the executive branch, appoints certain positions described in the Constitution and other positions established by law with the “advice and consent” of Senators. When the Senate goes into recess, the president can make temporary appointments.

How many positions require Senate approval?
So many! The Civil Service Partnership is pursuing about 1,200 positions, most of which are well below Cabinet level and require Senate approval. Although in most cases the president probably doesn’t play a personal role. They will be supervised by newly confirmed heads of their staff or agencies.

The US Constitution requires Senate approval. (Symbol photo: Canva)

When does this process begin?
The president-elect nominates his elected people to key positions immediately after winning the election. Normally this process begins before the elections. But after the election results are officially announced, the Senate first begins hearings to approve or approve the appointments.

Committee hearing
The hearing “will take place in a committee having jurisdiction over the department to which the nominee has been nominated. During these hearings, which can last hours, committee members are given the opportunity to ask the nominee questions, often about his background and policy positions.

Testing and voting
The nominee will also have to declare his income, assets etc. as submitted by the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha candidates of India to the Election Commission during elections. If necessary, the panel can also review any information submitted. The vote then takes place in the committee and then in the full Senate.

Donald Trump has indicated he wants to avoid the Senate approval process for some presidential appointments. (Symbolic photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Can an appointment be made without Senate approval?,
In general, the rejection of a name is a very rare exception in the entire approval process, as the possibility of a name rejection is known in advance and preparations are usually made in advance to ensure that the name is not rejected. But sometimes some names become risky. In such a situation, the discussion about Senate approval gains momentum. The same thing is happening this time, because before his second term, Trump signaled his willingness to bypass the Senate confirmation process by making appointments during recess.

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Recess appointments are appointments made without Senate approval because the Senate is not in session, delaying the approval process and allowing the person to remain in office for a specified period of time. Since this all happens during the Senate recess, they are referred to as recess dates. But this regulation is also temporary. It remains to be seen to what extent Trump can make use of it in such a situation.

Tags: US Congress, US President, US presidential election 2024