Let's assume for the sake of this discussion that the Democrats do NOT take the Senate. I think that the massive Republican voter suppression efforts already well under way will be effective enough to let them steal the Senate runoff(s).
So Biden has nominated or will nominate fifteen new Cabinet members. What is already existentially twisting Republican panties is that most of those nominees are NOT white males. Moscow Mitch will almost certainly block all of Biden's appointments, with the possible exception of Janet Yellin. GOP senators are already reacting in fury to the idea of uppity wimmenfolk and Blacks and Hispanics assuming high government positions.
So what happens if Biden in effect has no cabinet? I'm curious if anyone knows what Biden might be able to do. It should be noted, cabinet nominees have almost always been confirmed---only nine in US history were rejected. John Tyler had four tossed, and no other President had more than one rejected. So a total Moscow-Mitch turd-blockage would be unprecedented---but Republicans have shown themselves quite willing to violate precedent, ethics, and common decency. There's already a LOT of talk about "punishing" Biden for DARING to beat Trump. So...
1. Could Biden appoint "acting" Secretaries of...and just let them do their jobs, planning to formally renominate them in 2023?
2. Could Biden---since he'll be the Chief Executive---simply issue direct orders to those cabinet departments?
3. Could Biden appoint deputy Secretaries of...and allow them to run their departments until such time as the Mitch blockage is flushed away?
4. Could Biden create an advisory board that would in effect function as a Cabinet until such time as the Senate is unplugged?
I'm pretty sure that Donnie Dirtbag did #1, 2, and 3 at some point during his illustrious Presidential dumpster fire. I'm not sure if he actually had the authority to do so, but of course, the Senate was never going to challenge him. In fact, I expect more Republican hypocrisy as they tell Biden that he can't do things that they allowed Trump to do without a whisper of protest.
