President-elect Donald Trump announced this on Sunday that he appoints a “border czar,” a former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigration hardliner Tom Homanto join his government. However, Homan may not be the only “czar” in the Trump administration.

“I am pleased to announce that former ICE Director, and avid border patrol officer, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration in charge of our nation’s borders (“The Border Czar”), including , but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all maritime and aviation security,” Trump wrote about Truth Social.

The term “czar” is shorthand for a senior executive branch official responsible for a specific policy focus.

These are not Senate-confirmed positions

The role of the “czar” is one that allows a president to step over the pesky checks and balances of the three branches of government. “Czar” roles are not Senate-confirmed Cabinet positions, like those of, for example, the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Health and Human Services. That means a president can appoint that person to his administration without Senate intervention, and quickly.

Trump wants to put his people in the right place, and quickly, after experiencing in his first term how the authority of Congress can thwart an administration’s plans. Trump said this in a post on social media on Sunday.

“Sometimes the votes can take two years or more,” Trump wrote on Sunday, saying he wants recess appointments. “This is what they did four years ago, and we can’t let it happen again. We filled the positions IMMEDIATELY!”

Trump would not be the first president to use “czars.”

Trump would not be the first president to use “czars.” Such czars have been appointed by presidents of both parties. Former President Barack Obama had, in part, an “energy and environment czar,” an “Afghan czar,” an “auto czar,” a “health czar,” and an “auto repair czar.”

His use of these positions was so widespread that in 2009 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the history and legality of executive branch czars. The committee noted that some of these policy czars were confirmed by the Senate at some point, while others held positions outside the White House reporting to a Senate-confirmed official. But a handful worked in the White House. The use of such “czars” sparked a firestorm of criticism from Republicans, and even some Democrats expressed concern about their authority.

But presidents before Obama also had “czars.” President Bill Clinton had a “Y2K Czar,” and President George W. Bush had an “AIDS Czar,” “Counterterrorism Czar,” and “Reading Czar,” among others. Historians believe the role dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who rapidly expanded the size and role of the federal government.

Trump also had something of a ‘czar’ during his first term. Moncef Slaoui, a former pharmaceutical executive oversaw Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s initiative to speed up COVID-19 vaccines.

During the Obama administration, Republicans destroyed the growth of the administrative state and the decisions of unelected bureaucrats. And during the Trump administration, Trump supporters complained about the so-called “deep state” of unelected career officers.

Vice President Harris has sometimes been called a “border czar,” but not by President Biden himself, as the president tasked her with dealing with the influx of migrants at the southern border. Harris fought against that label as a Democratic candidate.

A “czar” stance could make room for controversial names like RFK, Jr.

The Senate will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office. But Trump may still struggle to attach some of the most controversial names, such as vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to Senate-confirmed Cabinet positions.

Kennedy is on a shortlist proposed by some Trump allies to serve as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services, several people close to the of the president-elect campaign said. But it is also possible that Kennedy would serve in a less formal role, such as a “czar.”

Where does the concept of ‘tsars’ come from?

“Tsar” comes from the Russian word “tsar,” which is derived from the Latin word “caesar,” according to the World History Encyclopedia. Specifically, the term Tsar refers to Russia’s rulers for hundreds of years. Ivan IV The Terrible was formally crowned “Tsar of All Russia” in 1547, and this title lasted until the Russian monarchy was overthrown in the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who greatly expanded the size and scope of the federal government, used “czars.” But even before his term in office, the first use of the term “czar” in the US was probably Nicholas Biddle, who was appointed president of the Bank of the United States during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. He was sometimes referred to as ‘Tsar Nicholas’, which overlapped with the reign of Russian Tsar Nicholas I.

Over time, the term came to be used informally in the U.S. for people chosen by the president for important positions and who do not undergo Senate vetting, verification, or confirmation.

What are the pros and cons of “tsars”?

Critics of such roles have argued that “tsars” exceed the system of checks and balances that the ancestors established. The late Democratic Senator Robert Byrd criticized both Obama and Bush for creating such roles in their administrations.

“The quick and easy accumulation of power by White House staff could threaten the constitutional system of checks and balances,” Byrd wrote in a published letter to Obama in 2009. “At worst, White House staff have assumed leadership and control over programmatic areas. that is the legal responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

The president can, of course, appoint White House staff. The constitutional issues come into question when the president chooses a director who is not confirmed by the Senate.

But for a president who wants to quickly appoint an ally, it is logistically much easier to put a “czar” in power than a Cabinet secretary.

How effective a “tsar” can really be is up for debate – especially since “tsars” generally have no control over budgets.

Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.