When a Federal position becomes vacant which requires that the President select the candidate, often the candidate must be confirmed by the Senate. There is though, a Constitutional provision that allows the candidate to hold the office for up to a year, Recess Appointments. This allows the President to place the candidate in the position while the Senate is in recess, and the Senate has to confirm that candidate before the end of the next session, or the position becomes vacant again.
Using This Power To Get The Positions Filled
President Obama announced on Saturday that he would be using this provision to fill various federal positions, some of which have been vacant for more than a year. Although his appointments to the Department of Treasury and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has more than a few eye-brows raised. This maneuver was clearly meant to circumvent the Republican party obstruction tactics that are being used on a total of 77 nominations. The 4 Appointees That Really Raised Eye-brows
In his statement made Saturday the President appointed Jeffrey Goldstein, as under secretary for domestic finance, and Michael Mundaca, as the assistant secretary for tax policy, both are Treasury Department offices. For the NLRB, Craig Becker and Mark Pearce were appointed to positions. Both NLRB appointees are considered to hold radical views, and it is claimed that this is pay-back for support from “His Union Paymasters, With More Job-Killing Bailouts To Come” according to one memo released to the Republican National Committee.
What The White House Is Saying
White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod pointed out that “the Republican Party (is) going to try and slow and block progress on all fronts, whether it is legislation or appointments.” Further defending the Recess Appointments saying that what happened was necessary.
