President Obama announced on March 27 that he will make 15 "recess appointments" to various Executive Branch positions during Congress' spring vacation, thus bypassing the regular Senate confirmation process.
"The United States Senate has the responsibility to approve or disapprove of my nominees," said President Obama in a press release naming the 15 people to be appointed. "But if, in the interest of scoring political points, Republicans in the Senate refuse to exercise that responsibility, I must act in the interest of the American people and exercise my authority to fill these positions on an interim basis."
According to the White House, the 15 nominations have been pending in the Senate for 217 days. "Most of the men and women whose appointments I am announcing today were approved by Senate committees months ago, yet still await a vote of the Senate," said Obama.
Obama's 15 recess appointments include two important Treasury Department positions that have remained vacant for over a year. They are Jeffrey Goldstein, nominated for Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, Department of the Treasury and Michael F. Mundaca, nominated for Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Department of the Treasury.
Recess appointments, while sometimes controversial, are not all that rare. By the same time during his first term, President George W. Bush had also made 15 recess appointments, and in 2005, made the controversial recess appointment of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
While they assume their positions immediately, persons appointed by recess appointments must still be confirmed by the full senate before the end of the next session of Congress, or when the position becomes vacant again.
Also See:
About Recess Appointments
Bush Installs Bolton by Recess Appointment (2005)
Comments