Also known as: Appointment Clause · appointment power
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional provision in Article II that empowers the President to nominate principal officers of the United States with Senate confirmation and authorizes Congress to vest appointment of inferior officers in the President, courts, or department heads.
A judicial council appointed Opal to investigate only one SEC official's dealings with Dawn Estates. Opal could be removed only for cause and held no broad policymaking authority. The appointment satisfied the clause because the narrow investigative role qualified Opal as an inferior officer.
The Senate held only pro forma sessions every three days during a twenty-five-day period and never declared a recess. The President appointed an acting SEC commissioner to resolve urgent housing disputes. The appointment failed because the Senate remained in session under its own rules.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Congress authorized the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to appoint most voting members of the Federal Election Commission. The appointees exercised significant ongoing authority over campaign finance enforcement. The clause barred the appointments because legislative officers may not select principal officers.
The SEC appointed members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board who could be removed only for cause by the Commission. The Commission members themselves enjoyed for-cause protection from the President. The clause was violated because the double layer of insulation prevented adequate presidential supervision of inferior officers.
Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and provided that its single director could be removed by the President only for cause. The director exercised substantial executive power over financial regulation. The clause required at-will removal because the position was a principal officer not subject to the inferior-officer exception.
Congress enacted a statute allowing one house to override an executive suspension of deportation. The provision gave a legislative body final say over an individual immigration decision. The clause was breached because Congress may not retain appointment or removal power over executive officers through one-house action.
Principal officers must receive presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. Inferior officers may be appointed by the President alone, department heads, or courts when Congress so provides. Courts examine the scope of duties, tenure, and removal protections to classify the position.
Congress may vest appointment of inferior officers in the courts. The position must involve limited duties focused on a narrow subject or group of persons. Broad policymaking or final decision-making authority would render the officer principal and require Senate confirmation.
The Senate must formally declare itself in recess for a sufficient duration. Pro forma sessions held at regular intervals prevent a recess even if no legislative business occurs. Without a formal declaration the President lacks authority to make recess appointments.
…campaign expenditures are unconstitutional. (2) The method of appointing members of the Federal Election Commission violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. Pp. 1-143. Majority opinion Per curiam The case is before the Court on certified questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of…