Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Jan. 26, 2012 |
| Report Number |
RL42329 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Bearden, Maureen;Hogue, Henry B. |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Under the Constitution, the President and the Senate share the power to make appointments to the highest-level politically appointed positions in the federal government. The Constitution also empowers the President unilaterally to make a temporary appointment to such a position if it is vacant and the Senate is in recess. Such an appointment, termed a recess appointment, expires at the end of the following session of the Senate. This report identifies recess appointments by President Barack Obama, from the beginning of his presidency, on January 20, 2009, until January 23, 2012. The report discusses these appointments in the context of recess appointment authorities and practices generally, and it provides related statistics. Congressional efforts to prevent further recess appointments are also discussed. As of January 23, 2012, President Obama had made 32 recess appointments, all to full-time positions. By the same point in the first term of his presidency, President William J. Clinton had made 20 recess appointments, 9 to full-time positions and 11 to part-time positions. President George W. Bush had made 62 recess appointments, 35 to full-time positions and 27 to part-time positions. Six of President Obama's recess appointments had been made during recesses between Congresses or between sessions of Congress (intersession recess appointments). The remaining 26 had been made during recesses within sessions of Congress (intrasession recess appointments). In each of the 32 instances in which President Obama had made a recess appointment, the individual had also been nominated to the position to which he or she was appointed. In all of these cases, a related nomination to the position preceded the recess appointment. In 18 of the 32 cases, as of January 23, 2012, the Senate had later confirmed the nominee to the position to which he or she had been recess appointed. With regard to the 14 remaining individuals, nominations of six were pending; nominations for the other eight were not.
