Fresh from the narrow presidential election victory that he has insisted on calling an “unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Donald Trump’s very first reminder that he is not the king of all he surveys is the necessity of securing Senate confirmation of his key executive branch appointees, beginning with the Cabinet. The realization seems to have annoyed him.

Almost immediately, he told aspirants to the position of Senate Majority Leader (an election won by John Thune was held on November 13 to fill the leadership post long held by Mitch McConnell, who stepped down) that if they wanted his cooperation that should be willing to consider “recess appointments” to avoid the necessity of confirmation votes:

Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is…

Rick Scott bent the knee to this demand instantly, while John Cornyn and Thune said they were open to the idea. But so far Trump hasn’t moved to push the Senate aside, and his acquiescence (or perhaps involvement) in the withdrawal of the especially troublesome Matt Gaetz nomination to become attorney general could indicate he’s not planning to........

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