Senate heads into recess as Trump tells Schumer to 'go to hell'
Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate began its month‑long recess Saturday night amid negotiations to advance the nomination of dozens of Donald Trump's pending nominees, as the president told Sen. Chuck Schumer to "go to hell" when the talks collapsed.
Trump, in a post to his Truth Social platform on Saturday, had wanted the Senate to stay in session but accused Schumer of "political extortion" for allegedly demanding a billion dollars in funding in order to approve dozens of his remaining "highly qualified nominees" for appointment to the administration.
A source familiar with Schumer's alleged demands told Axios that Schumer wants the White House to release withheld federal funding in exchange for passing a small batch of the nominees.
"Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!" Trump said in his post. "Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our country."
Schumer later shared Trump's post and quipped, "The Art of the Deal." He later added that Trump had "attempted to steamroll" the Senate into approving his "historically unqualified nominees."
But the standoff has led Senate Republicans to express support for the possibility that Trump use recess appointments, a controversial constitutional mechanism that allows the president to "temporarily" fill vacant positions when the Senate is in recess.
"The Senate should immediately adjourn and let President Trump use recess appointments to enact the agenda 77M Americans voted for," Sen. Roger Marshall posted on Saturday.
Senate Republicans also indicated they might pursue a change to Senate rules after they return from recess to make it easier to pass through confirmations. Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Fox News that lawmakers would be moving forward with a rule change in September.
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