Obama Not Getting High Marks for Recess Appointments

Presidential recess appointments are always controversial, especially to the Senate which holds dear its responsibility to "advise and consent".  They don't like it when presidents go around them to appoint people who might have trouble being confirmed in the traditional manner, but the Constitution gives the president that authority when Congress is not in session.

Of course, when that right was written into the Constitution the Congress was not a full-time occupation and could be out of session for weeks or months at a time, thus necessitating the rule to ensure that the government's work continue to get done.  Things are a little different today.

During the latter days of the Bush Administration Harry Reid played Senate kabuki by having one Senator come in every day and technically keep the Senate in session during the holiday breaks to keep Bush from making any recess appointments.  Harry didn't seem to feel the same urgency this year:

On December 29, President Obama made six recess appointments to the dismay of his Republican critics.

The power to make a recess appointment, or appointing people to positions that require Senate confirmation when Congress is not in session, is a useful tool for any president who wants to see his potentially problematic nominees get to work without having to go through the confirmation process. Most members in the Senate, however, view it as a slap in the face to their constitutional authority to confirm nominees.

Obama’s appointments – particularly Robert Stephen Ford as Ambassador to Syria and James Cole as deputy attorney general– sparked outrage among Republicans. Republican New York Rep. Peter King, the incoming chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, denounced Cole’s appointment, calling it “absolutely shocking,” and one of the worst appointments Obama will make during his term as president.

“I strongly oppose the recess appointment of James Cole to lead the national security team at the Department of Justice,” said King in a statement. “The appointment indicates that the Obama Administration continues to try to implement its dangerous policies of treating Islamic terrorism as a criminal matter.”

Although I dislike Obama's choices I think the recess appointment process shouldn't be tampered with. In fact, if I were elected president I would make sure to have nominations in mind for every open federal seat, from the Cabinet to the federal courts, and the first time Congress went into recess I'd appoint them all. Hundreds of them. Get all my people in place and then let the Senate sort them out.

Senators from both parties would have a hissy fit, but I'd be able to start making an immediate impact where it's needed and once in place it would force the Senate to act on these nominations.  Chances are most of them would sail through the confirmation process because the Senate wouldn't want to take the time for lengthy hearings and investigations of appointees who are not considered controversial.

It would also give me the chance to appoint Cabinet members to head Education, Labor and Commerce whose specific tasking would be the elimination of those bureaucracies.  Those guys probably wouldn't be able to get confirmed if the Senate knew what their assignment was.  The agencies would be gone before the Senate could toss the nominees.

Just an idea...