alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

April 4, 2007

Something Rotten Coming to the State of Belgium

by AltHippo @ 4:20 pm. Filed under Bush

AP:

President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress where Democrats had derailed Fox’s nomination.

Democrats had denounced Fox for his 2004 donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group’s TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor in the Massachusetts Democrat losing the election.

One thing’s for sure. You can’t accuse Bush of not being a total dick. Or double negatives to that effect.

Update: ThinkProgress.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) responds: “I seriously question the legality of the President’s use of the recess appointment authority in this instance. I intend to seek an opinion on the legality of this appointment from the General Accountability Office and invite other Senators to join with me in that request. This is underhanded and an abuse of Executive authority — sadly this behavior has become the hallmark of this administration.”

I’m sure that the purpose of recess appointments wasn’t to avoid Senate confirmation. But, I’ve never heard of an attempt to raise a legal argument against recess apointments, even when they’re done in the most unbelievably hacky way, as we have here.

Update 2: From this Kos link comes an excerpt from a CRS document. The gist is that while the president may pay a political price, the concept of recess is vague enough to include anything that’s longer than a weekend.

How Long Must the Senate Be in Recess Before a President
May Make a Recess Appointment?

The Constitution does not specify the length of time that the Senate must be in recess before the President may make a recess appointment. Over the last century, as shorter recesses have become more commonplace, Attorneys General and the Office of Legal Counsel have offered differing views on this issue. Most recently, in 1993, a Department of Justice brief implied that the President may make a recess appointment during a recess of more than three days. Appointments made during short recesses (less than 30 days), however, have sometimes aroused controversy, and they may involve a political cost for the President. Controversy has been particularly acute in instances where Senators perceive that the President is using the recess appointment process to circumvent the confirmation process for a nominee who is opposed in the Senate.

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