A Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives is calling upon his colleagues to form a "shadow government" to stand up to the incoming administration of President-Elect Donald Trump. 

The idea, according to Fox News, comes from U.S. Rep. WIley Nickels (D-NC).

As we will see, Nickels essentially wants to create a Congressional "cabinet" to stand in opposition to Trump's cabinet.

Nickels put the idea forth in an op-ed that he wrote for the Washington Post. 

The details:

Nickels, in the op-ed, called for his colleagues to "borrow from our British friends and appoint a shadow cabinet to fight back against the worst excesses of a second Trump administration."

He wrote:

Across the Atlantic, the British have something we don’t: a team from the opposition that mirrors the government’s cabinet members. They watch the cabinet closely, publicly challenging, scrutinizing and offering new ideas. It’s another form of checks and balances — a quiet guardrail that keeps power accountable

Fox reports that Nickels's "proposal is to appoint 26 Democratic leaders in Congress to mirror Trump's Cabinet-level officials and challenge each initiative of the incoming administration."

Some examples are provided.

Per the outlet:

Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for instance, could be a shadow attorney general who would call out Trump's efforts to replace career Justice Department attorneys with those loyal to the president. Or Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., might be a shadow Secretary of State who would loudly oppose potential action by the Trump administration that would decrease support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

It's not the American way

Fox notes that there are "key differences" between the U.S. and U.K. governments.

The outlet reports:

There are key differences between the U.S. and U.K. governments that might complicate this idea. The most obvious being that the U.K. uses a parliamentary system, where multiple parties form coalition governments as opposed to the dual party system Americans have. The U.K. prime minister is the head of government and leads the Cabinet, which exercises the executive power.

Fox, however, notes that the American Founders chose - intentionally - a different system.

Per the outlet:

 The U.S. Constitution invests the legislative power in Congress and the authority to enforce laws in the Executive Branch, which is led by the president. The president's cabinet officials each head different executive agencies, which are created by Congress but not administered by lawmakers. Members of the cabinet are nominated by the president and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Nickels' proposed shadow cabinet officials would not be subject to similar checks on power.

Fox notes that it is hard to see how Nickels's idea would be any different from what members of Congress already do.