recess appointments

(noun)

Along with naming judges, presidents appoint ambassadors and executive officers. These appointments require Senate confirmation. If Congress is not in session, presidents can make temporary appointments known as recess appointments without Senate confirmation, good until the end of the next session of Congress.

Related Terms

Examples of recess appointments in the following topics:

  • The Nomination Process

    • Every judge appointed to the court may be categorized as a federal judge with approval from the Senate.
    • A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S.
    • Senate is in recess.
    • To remain in effect a recess appointment must be approved by the Senate by the end of the next session of Congress, or the position becomes vacant again; in current practice this means that a recess appointment must be approved by roughly the end of the next calendar year.
    • Timing: The closer to an upcoming presidential election the appointment occurs, the more necessary it is to appoint a highly qualified, noncontroversial figure acceptable to the Senate.

  • Chief Diplomat

    • The appointment power of the President allows him or her to appoint and receive ambassadors around the world.
    • Although the Constitution does not explicitly grant presidents the power to recognize foreign governments, it is generally accepted that they have this power as a result of their constitutional authority to "send and receive ambassadors. " This is generally known as the "appointment power" of the presidency.
    • Along with naming judges, presidents appoint ambassadors and executive officers.
    • These appointments require Senate confirmation.
    • If Congress is not in session, presidents can make temporary appointments known as recess appointments without Senate confirmation, good until the end of the next session of Congress.

  • Vertical Checks and Balances

    • Congress is in charge of ratifying treaties signed by the President and gives advice and consent to presidential appointments to the federal, judiciary, and executive departments.
    • He makes appointments to the federal judiciary, executive departments, and other posts with the advice and consent of the Senate, and has power to make temporary appointments during the recess of the Senate.

  • The Expansion of Presidential Powers

    • Presidents make numerous executive branch appointments--an incoming president may make up to 6,000 before he takes office and 8,000 more during his term.
    • Ambassadors, members of the Cabinet, and other federal officers are all appointed by a president with the "advice and consent" of a majority of the Senate.
    • Appointments made while the Senate is in recess are temporary and expire at the end of the next session of the Senate.
    • Obama's administrative appointment made during a Congressional recess, and is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of an executive order know as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) that delays deportation of undocumented residents who arrived as children.

  • Article I

    • The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
    • The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
    • No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.
    • To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

  • Article II

    • Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.
    • The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President.
    • He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
    • The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

  • Politics and the Great Recession of 2008

    • The 2008–2012 global recession is a massive global economic decline that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008.
    • No economic recession since The Great Depression of the 1930s has affected economic input, production and circulation of capital like the current global recession.
    • The global recession affected the entire world economy, hitting some countries more than others.
    • It is a major global recession characterized by various systemic imbalances sparked by the outbreak of the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. shows the trend in international trade that reflects the recession in 2008.
    • There exists a dip in 2009 that corresponds to the recession of 2008.

  • Senate Confirmation

    • Senate confirmation is required for certain presidential appointments stated under the Constitution.
    • Under the United States Constitution and law of the United States, certain federal positions appointed by the president of the United States require confirmation (advice and consent) of the United States Senate.
    • United States Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
    • Because justices serve for life, their appointments can be politically controversial if they are perceived to have been appointed to implement or serve a more partisan agenda.

  • The 23rd Amendment

    • The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
    • A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

  • Advice and Consent

    • For appointments, a majority of senators are needed to pass a motion "to advise and consent", but unless the appointment has the support of three-fifths of senators, a filibuster blocking the passage of the motion is possible.
    • This power is also held by several state Senates, which are consulted on and approve various appointments made by the state's chief executive, such as some statewide officials, state departmental heads in the Governor's cabinet, and state judges (in some states).
    • This term is then used again, to describe the Senate's role in the appointment of public officials, immediately after describing the president's duty to nominate officials .
    • Under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, appointments to the Office of Vice President are confirmed by a majority vote in both Houses of Congress, instead of just the Senate.
    • For appointments, a majority of senators are needed to pass a motion "to advise and consent," but unless the appointment has the support of three-fifths of senators, a filibuster blocking the passage of the motion is possible.