COLUMBUS, Ohio — With a full two weeks under his belt as U.S. Senator-Elect, Bernie Moreno is again traveling the state of Ohio and meeting with constituents, but this time it’s not to rally voters.
Moreno said he is on a “Thank You Tour” to visit with supporters. He made a stop in Columbus Wednesday.
The Republican relied on an endorsement by now President-Elect Donald Trump throughout his campaign, support that helped the political newcomer edge ahead of longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Now, Moreno is returning the favor, by backing Trump’s nominees for his incoming administration.
Moreno’s term in Congress officially begins when he’s sworn in on Jan. 3, about two weeks before Trump is set to be inaugurated for a second term.
During that time span, Moreno said he hopes many of Trump’s cabinet picks can be routed through the Senate’s committee process in preparation for a full session to confirm the nominees after Trump takes the oath of office.
"My point of view is very straightforward,” Moreno said. “President Trump ran for president. He got 312 electoral votes. He won the popular vote. He won all seven swing states by a decent margin. He's got a mandate from the American public to actually serve. He has the ability to choose the people that he thinks will serve him best, and I look forward to helping him confirm every single one of his nominees.”
His support would have gone to Trump’s initial choice for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, but Gaetz withdrew from consideration for the role amid a federal sex trafficking investigation Wednesday afternoon.
“I would have voted for Matt Gaetz,” Moreno said. “Just to be clear, I would have voted to confirm him.”
He said he’s putting his trust in his party’s leader, in a similar way to how the other side of the aisle trusted President Joe Biden.
“Every single Democrat voted for every single nominee in the cabinet of Joe Biden,” Moreno said. “There's not one doubt in my mind that Joe Biden picked the worst, least-qualified cabinet in American history.“
Moreno said he is urging his caucus colleagues to stay focused and committed. He said in the Senate, each of the lawmakers has an equal amount of influence.
“But the place runs on unanimous consent, and one senator can stop the assembly line just as much as anybody else,” he said.
If Democrats try to block the confirmations of Trump’s appointees, Moreno said Senate Republicans are willing to do what it takes to get Trump’s appointees in office.
“Look, recess appointments are on the table,” Moreno said.
According to Article II, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, “The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
Jonathan Entin, law professor for Case Western Reserve University, said Senate recess appointments are an option in theory, but unlikely.
He said the chamber would have to agree to go out of session for at least 10 days and Senators would essentially be handing over some of the checks and balances built into the government.
“And therefore left the president complete freedom to put anybody he wants into high-level positions, that’s what would happen,” Entin said.
But it’s not impossible, since Republicans do hold a majority in the Senate.
“If they’re bound and determined to do this, then they probably could accomplish that,” Entin said. “But this would be literally unprecedented.”
He said rules are in place to ensure the minority party does not delay the confirmation process, but it still takes some time to approve each position. Entin said there are about 1,200 individual roles the president is responsible for appointing someone to fill.
“We can talk about running the government like a business, but the government has to follow certain rules that are laid out in the Constitution,” Entin said. “And those rules were designed to make it difficult for the government to act hastily about very many things. And this is one of those areas where haste can make waste like that.”
Moreno said he hopes the regular Senate confirmation process runs smoothly, but said recess appointments are a tool Republicans are willing to use, if needed.
“Our agenda is an American agenda,” he said. “You heard me say that during the campaign. We want to have a great path forward in the United States of America. Make people’s lives better.”