‘Confirm the mandate’: Turning Point Action, Charlie Kirk urge Senate to vote in Trump’s cabinet picks

TPAction founder Charlie Kirk posted to X on Thursday, "The American people spoke, and Trump won a MASSIVE mandate. We are officially launching a nationwide grassroots effort to GIVE TRUMP HIS CABINET."

"This is now the biggest fight: Ensuring our victory doesn’t go to waste. The Republican-led Senate must act and support President Trump. JOIN THE FIGHT," Kirk added, then linking to confirmthemandate.com, a campaign landing page for TPAction that states that giving Trump his cabinet picks "is a mandate directly from the American people as a response to the wicked Establishment in DC, who are trying to block President Trump’s cabinet choices."

Producer of the Charlie Kirk Show, Andrew Kolvet, told The Post Millennial, "We're prepared to travel to deep red state America as an encouragement campaign in support of confirming President Trump's cabinet. But if need be, this will become a pressure campaign. These senators have drafted off the coattails of President Trump, they're in the majority because of President Trump, and it's time to support the President by fulfilling the mandate and confirming the president's cabinet nominees."

Some of the appointments that have gotten pushback from establishment figures in DC include Robert F. Kenney Jr., who Trump picked to head the Department of Health and Human Services; Tulsi Gabbard, who was picked to be the Director of National Intelligence; Pete Hegseth, who was selected to be Trump's Secretary of Defense; and Matt Gaetz, who was chosen to be the president-elect's Attorney General.

Democrats have labeled Gabbard, for example, a "Russian asset" as she has been picked by Trump. Gaetz as Trump's AG pick has perhaps received the most backlash, from Democrats and some Republicans. In the FBI and DOJ, some senior officials are even lawyering up over Trump's pick with Gaetz for potential legal consequences for going after the now-President-elect.

Earlier this week, Gaetz also met with several Senators on the Hill about his role as Attorney General, per Roll Call. Lindsay Graham, a Republican Senator that many would not place in the camp of defending Gaetz, said after the meeting, “I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I have seen this movie before."

He added, "I would urge all of my Senate colleagues, particularly Republicans, not to join the lynch mob and give the process a chance to move forward." The accusations surrounding Gaetz have to do with alleged sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, but previously the evidence was not enough for the DOJ to press any charges against him.

The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action have also launched a $1 million public education campaign to advocate for the swift confirmation of Trump cabinet appointees, which will target the home states of key Senators involved in the confirmation process.

Statement from Ryan Walker, executive vice president of Heritage Action for America:

“Under President Trump’s mandate delivered by the American people, Heritage Action and our millions of grassroots conservatives stand ready to support President Trump and his slate of nominees through a swift Senate confirmation process. The new Senate Republican majority must unite to deliver on the promises made to the American people to implement the America First agenda as soon as possible. With the extraordinary growth of the administrative state and political appointments subject to Senate confirmation, we will use all advocacy tools at our disposal to ensure President Trump's Cabinet picks receive timely advice-and-consent consideration in the Senate as envisioned by the founders.”

In normal circumstances, the Senate has the ability to either reject or confirm cabinet appointments made by the president. However, because of the Constitution's Recess Appointments clause, it authorizes the president to "fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate." Recess appointments have been floated as a possibility in some circles. Although this allows for the appointments to be filled, the nominations expire at the end of the Congressional session, which occurs every two years.

Usually, to outright confirm nominations by the president to fill vacancies, 60 votes are needed in order to avoid the filibuster. However, in recent years senators have used the nuclear option to make it so that only a simple majority, 51 votes, is needed to bring in nominations.