Democratic sources say they fear the Trump regime is seeking to stack federal commissions, ending decades of bipartisan inclusion. The roster includes the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Election Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, among others. No more than three of these five- and six-member commissions can come from one political party. Sam Stein and Ryan Grim report:
Historically, the White House has largely deferred to Senate committees in naming a commission’s minority party members. The nominees are then sent to the Senate as a pair as a means of expediting their confirmation.
But Democratic sources on the Hill worry that the Trump administration has conceived of a way to get around these norms. Although it can’t stack commissions with more Republicans, it can replace Democrats with registered Independents who are ideologically conservative. One counsel to a Senate Democrat said the administration “may actually be able to do this legally.” Others cautioned, that it’s not yet clear if Trump will go down this path.
Already, however, at least one Obama-era holdover commission nominee subjected to oversight from the Senate Banking Committee has been pulled, according to a separate Senate source familiar with the maneuvers.
And, as Stein and Grim note, Pr*sident Trump’s right-hand man Steve Bannon is eager to deconstruct the administrative state. These commissions are a key part of that administrative state. If the regime chooses to go this route, however, it won’t only be Democrats who get upset. Having a big say in who serves on these commissions is not the kind of institutional prerogative Republican leaders in Congress want to surrender. But it remains to be seen whether they will have the gumption to take on the White House over this matter.