Recess Appointments Made by
President Barack Obama
Henry B. Hogue
Specialist in American National Government
Maureen Bearden
Information Research Specialist
June 11, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R42329
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama
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 June 3,
2013. 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 June 3, 2013, President Obama had made 32 recess appointments, all to full-time positions.
By the same point in his presidency, President William J. Clinton had made 36 recess
appointments, 22 to full-time positions and 14 to part-time positions. President George W. Bush
had made 120 recess appointments, 67 to full-time positions and 53 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 19 of the 32
cases, as of June 3, 2013, the Senate had later confirmed the nominee to the position to which he
or she had been recess appointed. With regard to the 13 remaining individuals, nominations of 3
were pending; nominations for the other 10 were not.
During the 110th, 111th, and 112th Congresses, the Senate periodically used pro forma sessions to
prevent the occurrence of a recess of more than three days. There appears to have been an
expectation that this scheduling would block the President from making recess appointments,
based on an argument that an absence of the Senate of three days or less would not constitute a
“recess” long enough to permit the use of this authority. However, consistent with a January 2012
opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice, the President reached a
different conclusion as to the effect of this scheduling practice. On January 4, 2012, during a
three-day period of adjournment between two pro forma sessions of the Senate, the White House
announced President Obama’s intent to make four recess appointments.
As of June 3, 2013, two federal courts of appeals had issued decisions related to the 2012
appointments and had found the appointments at issue in each case to be unconstitutional. For
further information on these cases and the issues involved, see CRS Report RL33009, Recess
Appointments: A Legal Overview, by Vivian S. Chu; CRS Report R43030, The Recess
Appointment Power After Noel Canning v. NLRB: Constitutional Implications, by Todd Garvey
and David H. Carpenter; CRS Report R43032, Practical Implications of Noel Canning on the
NLRB and CFPB, by David H. Carpenter and Todd Garvey; and CRS Report WSLG521, 3rd
Circuit: President’s Recess Appointment Power Only Extends to Intersession Recesses, by David
H. Carpenter.
Additional information on recess appointments may be found in other CRS reports: CRS Report
RS21308, Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by Henry B. Hogue; CRS Report
Congressional Research Service
Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama
RL33310, Recess Appointments Made by President George W. Bush, by Henry B. Hogue and
Maureen Bearden; and CRS Report RL32971, Judicial Recess Appointments: A Legal Overview,
by T. J. Halstead.
This report will be updated as developments warrant.
Congressional Research Service
Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama
Contents
Characteristics of Recess Appointments by President Obama ........................................................ 3
Full-Time and Part-Time Positions ............................................................................................ 3
Within-Session and Between-Session Recess Appointments .................................................... 4
Recess Appointments by Branch ............................................................................................... 6
Recess Appointments and Related Nominations ....................................................................... 7
Congressional Efforts to Block Recess Appointments by Limiting Recess Duration ..................... 8
Background................................................................................................................................ 8
Practices Implemented Unilaterally by the Senate .................................................................. 10
Senate Practices Necessitated by the Absence of House Consent to Adjourn ......................... 11
Appointments During a Three-Day Recess Between Two Pro Forma Sessions ...................... 12
Historical Examples of Recess Appointments During Brief Adjournments Between
Sessions ................................................................................................................................ 13
Obama Recess Appointment Data ................................................................................................. 14
Tables
Table 1. Annual Number of Recess Appointments to Full-Time and Part-Time Positions
by Recent Presidents ..................................................................................................................... 3
Table 2. Summary Information Concerning Recess Appointments by President Barack
Obama, as of June 3, 2013 ............................................................................................................ 6
Table 3. Recess Appointments by President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009–June 3,
2013 ............................................................................................................................................ 14
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 16
Congressional Research Service
Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama
nder the Constitution, the President and the Senate share the power to make appointments
to the highest-level politically appointed positions in the federal government.1 The
UConstitution also empowers the President unilaterally to make a temporary appointment
to such a position if it is vacant and the Senate is in recess.2 Such an appointment, termed a recess
appointment, expires at the end of the following session of the Senate.3 The records of debate at
the Constitutional Convention do not provide much evidence of the framers’ intentions in the
Recess Appointment Clause. A discussion of the clause by Alexander Hamilton, in The Federalist
Papers, suggests that its purpose was to provide an alternative method of appointment that would
allow the filling of vacancies “without delay” during periods of Senate absence.4 Opinions by
later Attorneys General also supported this general notion, suggesting that the purpose of the
clause was to allow the President to maintain the continuity of administrative government through
the temporary filling of offices during periods when the Senate was not in session, at which time
his nominees could not be considered or confirmed.5 This interpretation is supported by the fact
that both houses of Congress had relatively short sessions and long recesses during the early years
of the Republic. In fact, until the beginning of the 20th century, the Senate was, on average, in
session less than half the year.6
As of June 3, 2013, President Barack Obama had made 32 recess appointments. Of the 32, he
made 22 during recesses within the second session of the 111th Congress. He made six during the
recess between the adjournment of the 111th Congress and the convening of the 112th Congress.
On January 4, 2012, during a three-day period of adjournment between two pro forma sessions of
the Senate, the White House announced President Obama’s intent to make four recess
appointments. The period of adjournment took place shortly after the second session of the 112th
Congress convened and thus was a recess within a session, or an intrasession recess (discussed
below). The recess and pro forma sessions had been set as part of the Senate schedule for the
period of December 20, 2011, through January 23, 2012, established by unanimous consent on
1 U.S. Const. Article II, Section 2, clause 2. The clause also provides for the appointment of inferior officers in three
other ways, subject to congressional discretion: “Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers,
as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.”
2 “The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.” U.S. Const. Article II, Section 2, clause 3.
3 As discussed in detail later in this report, each Congress covers a two-year period, generally composed of two
sessions.
4 The Federalist Papers, ed. Clinton Rossiter (New York: New American Library, 1961). Hamilton described the
Recess Appointment Clause as a “supplement to the [Appointments Clause] for the purpose of establishing an auxiliary
method of appointment, in cases to which the general method was inadequate.” He went on to write that the “ordinary
power of appointment is confided to the President and Senate jointly, and can therefore only be exercised during the
session of the Senate; but as it would have been improper to oblige this body to be continually in session for the
appointment of officers, and as vacancies might happen in their recess, which it might be necessary for the public
service to fill without delay, the succeeding clause is evidently intended to authorize the President, singly, to make
temporary appointments ‘during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of
their next session’” (pp. 409-410) (emphasis in the original).
5 An opinion by Attorney General William Wirt in 1823 concerning the meaning of the word “happen” in the clause
provides one example. In part, he stated, “The substantial purpose of the constitution was to keep these offices filled;
and the powers adequate to this purpose were intended to be conveyed.” 1 Op. A.G. 631, at 632 (1823).
6 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Printing, 2009-2010 Official Congressional Directory 111th Congress, S. Pub.
111-14, 111th Cong. (Washington: GPO, 2009), pp. 526-542.
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December 17, 2011.7 This schedule provided for a series of pro forma sessions with intervening
three- and four-day recesses.8
President Obama’s January 4, 2012, recess appointments have been controversial. The Senate
schedule agreed to for the period of December 20, 2011, through January 23, 2012, appears to
have been intended to prevent recess appointments during this period. President Obama’s recess
appointments during the period, supported by an opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at
the Department of Justice that was released the following week,9 indicate that the Administration
does not regard congressional scheduling practices, such as those used during this period, as an
impediment to the exercise of the recess appointment power. As of June 3, 2013, two federal
courts of appeals had issued decisions related to the 2012 appointments and had found the
appointments at issue in each case to be unconstitutional.10 The long term impact of the OLC
opinion and the appellate court decisions on recess appointment practice was not immediately
clear.11
This report identifies recess appointments by President Obama, from the beginning of his
presidency, on January 20, 2009, until June 3, 2013. The report discusses these recess
appointments in the context of recess appointment authorities and practices generally, and it
provides related statistics. The congressional efforts to prevent further recess appointments, just
mentioned, are also described in more detail. Additional information concerning recess
appointments by President George W. Bush, general recess appointment practices, judicial recess
appointments, and legal issues related to recess appointments may be found in other CRS
reports.12
7 Sen. Ron Wyden, “Orders for Tuesday, December 20, 2011 through Monday, January 23, 2012,” remarks in the
Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 157, part 195 (December 17, 2011), pp. S8783-S8784.
8 Pro forma sessions are short meetings of the Senate or the House held for the purpose of avoiding a recess of more
than three days and therefore the necessity of obtaining the consent of the other house. Normally, it is understood that
during a pro forma session no business will be conducted. Business has sometimes been conducted during pro forma
sessions, however. For example, on December 23, 2011, during the period under discussion here, the Senate convened
as scheduled and, by unanimous consent, agreed to a process for passage of the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut
Continuation Act of 2011 (Sen. Harry Reid, “Unanimous Consent Agreement” remarks in the Senate, Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 157 (December 23, 2011), p. S8789).
9 36 U.S. Op. O.L.C. *1 (2012).
10 For further information on these cases and the issues involved, see CRS Report RL33009, Recess Appointments: A
Legal Overview, by Vivian S. Chu; CRS Report R43030, The Recess Appointment Power After Noel Canning v. NLRB:
Constitutional Implications, by Todd Garvey and David H. Carpenter; and CRS Report WSLG521, 3rd Circuit:
President’s Recess Appointment Power Only Extends to Intersession Recesses, by David H. Carpenter.
11 For more on the impact of the first appeals court decision, see CRS Report R43032, Practical Implications of Noel
Canning on the NLRB and CFPB, by David H. Carpenter and Todd Garvey.
12 See CRS Report RL33310, Recess Appointments Made by President George W. Bush, by Henry B. Hogue and
Maureen Bearden; CRS Report RS21308, Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by Henry B. Hogue;
CRS Report RL32971, Judicial Recess Appointments: A Legal Overview, by T.J. Halstead; and CRS Report RL33009,
Recess Appointments :A Legal Overview, by Vivian S. Chu.
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Characteristics of Recess Appointments by
President Obama
Full-Time and Part-Time Positions
All of the 32 recess appointments made by President Obama, as of June 3, 2013, were to full-time
positions. By the same point in the first term of his presidency, President William J. Clinton had
made 36 recess appointments, 22 to full-time positions and 14 to part-time positions. President
George W. Bush had made 120 recess appointments, 67 to full-time positions and 53 to part-time
positions. Table 1 provides the number of recess appointments in each of these categories, by
calendar year, for each of these presidencies. In general, the top leadership positions in the federal
government are full-time positions to which appointments are made through the advice and
consent process. For example, the full-time offices to which President Obama has made recess
appointments include the Deputy Attorney General, the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, and
five Under Secretaries. Part-time positions can also be vested with statutory policy-making
authority that can have broad impact. The members of the Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Commission, who received recess appointments from President George W. Bush,
could be considered among the positions in this category.
Table 1. Annual Number of Recess Appointments to Full-Time and Part-Time
Positions by Recent Presidents
Calendar Year of Presidency
January
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
of 9th
Total
President William J. Clinton
Ful -time 0
3
1 17 9
11
11
38
5
95
Part-time 0
0
0 14 0
0
0
21
9
44
Total 0
3
1
31
9
11
11
59
14
139
President George W. Bush
Ful -time 1 19 14 30
8 23 4 0 0 99
Part-time 0 3 24 15 13 17 0 0 0 72
Total 1
22
38
45
21
40
4
0
0
171
President Barack Obama
Ful -time 0 28 0
4
0
32
Part-time 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0
28
0 4
0a 32a
Source: Table developed by the Congressional Research Service using data obtained, during the Clinton and
Bush presidencies, from news releases from the White House website, now at http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/
archivesearch.html/ and http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/, respectively; the White House Executive
Clerk; and the Legislative Information System (LIS) nominations database, at http://www.congress.gov/nomis/.
Note: The presidencies of William J. Clinton and George W. Bush each lasted for eight years. Each served
during nine calendar years, however, since a President’s term begins and ends on January 20.
a. Number of recess appointments through June 3, 2013.
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Within-Session and Between-Session Recess Appointments
The text of the Constitution states that the President has the authority to exercise the recess
appointment power during “the Recess of the Senate.”13 The precise meaning of this phrase has
been a matter of some debate, which has also appealed to the distinction between two
congressional recesses: those which occur within sessions of the Senate and those which occur
between sessions.
The Constitution prescribes that a new regular session of Congress shall convene annually.14 An
annual session of either house ends with a sine die adjournment; that is, an adjournment “without
day,” meaning that the chamber adjourns without setting a day for its next meeting, and therefore
will not meet again until the day fixed by the Constitution (or by law) for the next annual session
to convene. In current practice in this context, a “recess of the Senate” may refer either to a period
between the sine die adjournment of one annual session and the convening of the next, or to a
period within an annual session during which the Senate does not meet. A recess between sine die
adjournment of one session and the convening of the next is also known as an intersession recess.
A recess within a session is also known as an intrasession recess.
In the early days of Congress, lengthy intersession recesses were common. Before the 1940s, on
the other hand, intrasession recess appointments were unusual, largely because the occasion
seldom arose. Intrasession recess appointments have sometimes provoked controversy in the
Senate, and some academic literature also has called their legitimacy into question.15 Legal
opinions have also varied on this issue over time. In general, however, recent opinions have
supported the President’s use of the recess appointment authority during intrasession recesses.16
Recent Presidents have made recess appointments during both kinds of recess.
Notwithstanding the legal opinions and practices of recent decades, a legal opinion of the Office
of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the Department of Justice and decisions of two federal courts of
appeals related to four controversial recess appointments by President Barack Obama on January
4, 2012, raised questions about what a “recess” is with regard to the recess appointment power.
OLC argued that the determination of whether a “recess” is underway is not merely a matter of
observing formal Senate scheduling. Rather, the President may also determine whether a recess is
underway by assessing whether the Senate is available to participate in the advice and consent
process.17 In a January 25, 2013, decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held
that, for purposes of the Recess Appointments Clause, “the Recess” means only intersession
13 U.S. Const. Article II, Section 2, clause 3.
14 U.S. Const. Amendment XX, Section 2.
15 Regarding Senate controversy, see Sen. George Mitchell, “The Senate’s Constitutional Authority to Advise and
Consent to the Appointment of Federal Officers,” Congressional Record, vol. 139, July 1, 1993, p. 15266; and Senate
Legal Counsel, “Memorandum of United States Senate as Amicus Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion, and in
Opposition to Defendants’ Motions, for Summary Judgment on Count Two,” U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia, Mackie v. Clinton, Civ. Action No. 93-0032-LFO, Congressional Record, vol. 139, July 1, 1993, pp. 15267-
15274. For academic literature, see, for example, Michael A. Carrier, “When Is the Senate in Recess for Purposes of
the Recess Appointments Clause?” Michigan Law Review, vol. 92, June 1994.
16 For information and analysis related to the legal context in this area, see CRS Report RL33009, Recess
Appointments: A Legal Overview, by Vivian S. Chu.
17 “Lawfulness of Recess Appointments during a Recess of the Senate notwithstanding Periodic Pro Forma Sessions,”
Memorandum Opinion for the Counsel to the President, January 6, 2012, available at http://www.justice.gov/olc/2012/
pro-forma-sessions-opinion.pdf.
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recesses.18 A May 16, 2013, decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit also held
that the President’s recess appointment power extends only to intersession recesses.19 The long
term impact of the OLC opinion and the appellate court decisions on recess appointment practice
was not immediately clear.20
One reason for the controversy may be that, in one sense, intrasession recess appointments may
afford the President the ability to fill positions unilaterally for longer periods than would
intersession appointments. Under the constitutional provision previously quoted, a recess
appointment expires at the sine die adjournment of the Senate’s “next session.” Accordingly, if
the President makes a recess appointment during an intersession recess, the duration of the
appointment will include the remainder of that recess and the full length of the session that
follows. In the case of an intrasession recess appointment, on the other hand, the duration of the
appointment will include the rest of the session in progress, the ensuing intersession recess, and
the full length of the session that follows. At any point during a session, as a result, by making a
recess appointment during a recess within a session, the President may fill a position not just for
the rest of the session, but until near the end of the following session. This may add as much as a
year to the duration of an appointment.
A comparison of two recess appointments during the 108th Congress illustrates the difference in
recess appointment duration that results from the timing of appointments. During the recess
between the first and second sessions, President George W. Bush appointed Charles W. Pickering
to an appeals court judgeship. Several weeks later, during the first recess of the second session,
President Bush appointed William H. Pryor to a judgeship on another appeals court. Pickering’s
appointment expired after less than 11 months, at the end of the second session. Pryor’s recess
appointment would have expired after approximately 22 months, at the end of the first session of
the 109th Congress.21 Although the Pickering and Pryor recess appointments were only several
weeks apart, Pryor could have served nearly twice as long because his appointment was made
during an intrasession recess.
As of June 3, 2013, President Obama had made six intersession recess appointments and 26
intrasession recess appointments.
18 Noel Canning v. Nat’l Labor Relations Bd., 705 F.3d 490, 499 (D.C. Cir. 2013). The court also found that the recess
appointment power may be used to fill only those vacancies that have arisen during the recess in which the appointment
is made. For more on Noel Canning, see CRS Report R43030, The Recess Appointment Power After Noel Canning v.
NLRB: Constitutional Implications, by Todd Garvey and David H. Carpenter.
19 See CRS Report WSLG521, 3rd Circuit: President’s Recess Appointment Power Only Extends to Intersession
Recesses, by David H. Carpenter.
20 For more on the impact of the first appeals court decision, see CRS Report R43032, Practical Implications of Noel
Canning on the NLRB and CFPB, by David H. Carpenter and Todd Garvey.
21 Pryor was subsequently confirmed by the Senate and appointed to the position permanently.
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Table 2. Summary Information Concerning Recess Appointments by
President Barack Obama, as of June 3, 2013
All recess appointments
32
By type of position
Full-time
32
Part-time
0
By type of recess
Appointments during intersession recesses—between sessions of Congress
6
Appointments during intrasession recesses—within sessions of Congress
26
By branch
Appointments to legislative branch positions
1
Appointments to executive branch positions
31
Appointments to judicial branch positions
0
Recess appointments for which a related nomination was made
32
By nomination timing
First related nomination preceded recess appointment
32
First related nomination fol owed recess appointment
0
By disposition of nomination, as of June 3, 2013a
Resulted in confirmation
19
Withdrawn by the President and not resubmitted
7
Returned to the President and not resubmitted
3
Pending
3
Source: Table developed by Congressional Research Service using data obtained from news releases from the
White House website and the Legislative Information System (LIS) nominations database, available to the
congressional community at http://www.congress.gov/nomis.
a. The number shown is the number of cases, rather than the number of nominations. Some recess
appointments were associated with more than one nomination. For example, the President usual y submits
a new nomination of an individual after the Senate reconvenes fol owing his or her recess appointment in
order to comply with 5 U.S.C. § 5503. For more information, see CRS Report RS21308, Recess
Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by Henry B. Hogue.
Recess Appointments by Branch
Presidents have long made recess appointments to positions in all three branches of government.
Recess appointments to advice and consent positions in the legislative branch have been the least
common, in part because this branch has so few positions of this nature. Most recess
appointments have been to executive branch positions. Presidents have also made recess
appointments to positions in the federal judiciary. In recent years, however, recess appointments
to federal judgeships have been controversial. During the past 25 years, Presidents have made
recess appointments to fill Article III judgeships on only three occasions.22 President Clinton
22 An Article III judgeship is one that has been established in statute under the provisions and authority of Article III of
the U.S. Constitution. These include U.S. Supreme Court justice positions, and judgeships for the U.S. courts of appeal
(continued...)
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recess appointed Roger L. Gregory to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on
December 27, 2000, a step that reportedly met opposition in the Senate.23 President Clinton’s
nomination of Gregory was not confirmed, but President George W. Bush renominated him and
he was then confirmed by the Senate. On January 16, 2004, President Bush recess appointed
Charles W. Pickering to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Pickering’s appointment
expired at the end of the second session of the 108th Congress, and he retired.24 On February 20,
2004, President Bush named William H. Pryor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit Court of Appeals. Pryor was subsequently confirmed by the Senate.25
As of June 3, 2013, President Obama had made one recess appointment to the legislative branch
(to the position of Public Printer), 31 recess appointments to executive branch positions, and no
recess appointments to positions in the judicial branch.
Recess Appointments and Related Nominations
In most instances in which recent Presidents have made a recess appointment, they have also
submitted a related nomination to the Senate.26 Often a recess appointment is preceded by such a
nomination, but this is not required. Typically the individual who is given the recess appointment
is also the nominee, but the President will sometimes use a recess appointment to fill a position
while a different nominee to the same position is going through the Senate confirmation process.
Under certain conditions, a provision of law may prevent a recess appointee from being paid from
the Treasury unless the President submits a nomination to the position subsequent to the
appointment.27
When the President has made a recess appointment before, or soon after, submitting a nomination
for the position, the action has sometimes been perceived as pre-empting the Senate consideration
process. Critics of this practice argue that, absent an urgent need to fill a position immediately, the
Senate should be given the opportunity to exercise its constitutional role.
Each of the 32 recess appointments made by President Obama, as of June 3, 2013, was preceded
by a related nomination.28 The elapsed time between initial nomination and the announcement of
(...continued)
and district courts.
23 Neil A. Lewis, “Senator Vows He Will Fight Clinton’s Judicial Selection,” New York Times, December 29, 2000, p.
A16.
24 See entry for Charles Willis Pickering Sr. in the “Biographical Directory of Federal Judges” at the Federal Judicial
Center website: http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/judges.html.
25 For more, see CRS Report RL32971, Judicial Recess Appointments: A Legal Overview, by T. J. Halstead.
26 For the purposes of this report, a related nomination was defined as a nomination, by President Obama, to the
position to which the recess appointment was made.
27 Under 5 U.S.C. § 5503(a), if the position to which the President makes a recess appointment became vacant while the
Senate was in session, the recess appointee may not be paid from the Treasury until he or she is confirmed by the
Senate. The salary prohibition does not apply if (1) the vacancy arose within 30 days of the end of the session; (2) a
nomination for the office (other than the nomination of someone given a recess appointment during the preceding
recess) was pending when the Senate recessed; or (3) a nomination was rejected within 30 days of the end of the
session and another individual was given the recess appointment. A recess appointment falling under any one of these
three exceptions must be followed by a nomination to the position not later than 40 days after the beginning of the next
session of the Senate.
28 As of June 23, 2013, in each of these 32 instances, the individual nominated was the same as the individual given the
(continued...)
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the recess appointment ranged from 20 days (about three weeks) to 437 days (about 14½ months).
The mean, or average, elapsed time between a nomination and an associated recess appointment
announcement was 216 days (about seven months). The median elapsed time was slightly shorter:
211 days (approximately seven months).29
In 19 of the 32 instances in which a related nomination had been made, the Senate had confirmed
the nominee to the position to which he or she had been recess appointed, as of June 3, 2013.
With regard to the 13 remaining individuals, nominations of 3 were pending; nominations for the
other 10 were not. Of these 10, 7 were subsequently withdrawn by the President. Nominations of
the 3 remaining individuals had been returned to the President, under Senate rules, and the
President had not submitted a new nomination.
Congressional Efforts to Block Recess
Appointments by Limiting Recess Duration30
From the 110th Congress onward, new scheduling practices have arisen that appear intended to
prevent the President from making recess appointments. As previously discussed, these practices
do not appear to have prevented President Obama from making recess appointments. As
discussed below, however, these appointments have been controversial and the subject of
litigation.31
One set of scheduling practices that have arisen was implemented by the Senate alone; no unusual
action or inaction by the House was necessary. A second, related set of practices, which
developed in the 112th Congress, arose from the lack of a concurrent resolution of adjournment,
which can result from a lack of consent by either the House or the Senate. This section describes
these developments and the impact they have had on the incidence of recess appointments.
Background
The Constitution does not specify the length of time that the Senate must be in recess in order for
the President to make a recess appointment. Over the last century, recesses both within and
between sessions have tended to become shorter than recesses between sessions of Congress
(...continued)
recess appointment.
29 Two measures of central tendency are presented here: the mean, or average, and the median. The mean is the more
familiar measure, and it was calculated by adding together the elapsed times for all of the cases and dividing the
resulting sum by the total number of cases (32—each appointment that had been preceded by a nomination is a case in
this instance). The median is the middle number in a set of observations (or, in this case, because of an even number of
observations, the average of the two middle numbers). In data sets, such as this one, where the data are skewed because
of a limited number of extreme values, the median is often considered to be the more accurate of the two measures of
central tendency.
30 This section is drawn from an June 8, 2012, CRS Congressional Distribution Memorandum, “Recess Appointments
during Short Intervals between Sessions and Historical Efforts to Prevent Recess Appointments through Congressional
Scheduling,” by Henry B. Hogue and Richard S. Beth. Copies of this memorandum are available to the congressional
community from its authors. Hereinafter cited as “CRS CD Memorandum.”
31 The legality of the President’s actions has been addressed in an opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel at the
Department of Justice as well as decisions of two federal courts of appeal, discussed below.
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commonly used to be. This circumstance has brought to prominence the question of how long a
recess must be before it may be appropriate for the President to take advantage of his
constitutional power to fill vacancies through recess appointments.
Over time, the Department of Justice, through Attorneys General and Office of Legal Counsel
opinions, has offered differing views on this issue, and no settled understanding on these
questions appears to exist. One view, which was discussed by Attorney General Daugherty in a
1921 opinion, implied that a linkage might be established between the meaning of “the Recess of
the Senate,” for Recess Appointments Clause purposes, and the meaning of “adjourn for more
than three days,” for purposes of the Adjournment Clause.32 In the opinion, Daugherty argued that
the President had the authority to make a recess appointment during an intrasession recess of 29
days. He stated,
If the President is empowered to make recess appointments during the present adjournment ,
does it not necessarily follow that the power exists if an adjournment for only 2 instead of 28
days is taken? I unhesitatingly answer this by saying no. Under the Constitution neither
house can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.33
In 1993, a brief submitted by the Department of Justice in the case of Mackie v. Clinton34
articulated this argument more fully. Arguing that the recess during which the recess appointment
at issue in the case was made was of sufficient length, the brief stated,
If the recess here at issue were of three days or less, a closer question would be presented.
The Constitution restricts the Senate’s ability to adjourn its session for more than three days
without obtaining the consent of the House of Representatives.... It might be argued that this
means that the Framers did not consider one, two and three day recesses to be
constitutionally significant.…
Apart from the three-day requirement noted above, the Constitution provides no basis for
limiting the recess to a specific number of days. Whatever number of days is deemed
required, that number would of necessity be completely arbitrary.35
Pursuant to the Adjournment Clause, Congress generally provides for an intrasession recess of
more than three days by adopting a concurrent resolution.36 This form of measure is appropriate
32 U.S. Const. Article I, Section 5, clause 4. This clause provides that “Neither House, during the Session of Congress,
shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days.... ” In practice, the period has often extended
to not more than four calendar days over a weekend. Under House precedents, “The House of Representatives in
adjourning for not more than three days must take into the count either the day of adjourning or the day of the meeting,
and Sunday is not taken into account in making this computation.” U.S. Congress, House, Constitution, Jefferson’s
Manual and Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, 111th Cong.,
2nd sess., H.Doc. 111-157 (Washington: GPO, 2011), sec. 83. Senate practice appears to be consistent with this
approach. Floyd M. Riddick and Alan S. Frumin, Riddick’s Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practices, 101st Cong.,
2nd Sess., S.Doc. 101-28 (Washington: GPO, 1992), pp. 15-16, 1265.
33 33 Op. A.G. 20, at 24-25 (1921).
34 Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Defendants’ Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial
Summary Judgment, at 24-6, Mackie v. Clinton, 827 F. Supp. 56 (D.D.C. 1993), vacated as moot, 10 F.3d 13 (D.C. Cir.
1993). Hereinafter cited as “Justice Department Brief.”
35 Justice Department Brief, pp. 25-26.
36 In practice, the period has often extended to not more than four calendar days over a weekend. Under congressional
precedents, Sunday is considered a “dies non,” or a day on which the two chambers are not expected to meet, for
purposes of determining whether Congress has adjourned for “not more than three days” with regard to the
Adjournment Clause. Under House precedents, “The House of Representatives in adjourning for not more than three
(continued...)
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for each house to consent to a recess of the other, because it requires adoption by both houses, but
not action by the President. These resolutions typically specify the date or range of dates on
which each of the chambers will adjourn and the date upon which each chamber will reconvene.37
Practices Implemented Unilaterally by the Senate
The logic of the argument laid out in the Department of Justice brief appears to underlie
congressional practices that were first implemented during the 110th Congress.38 From November
2007 through the end of the George W. Bush presidency, the Senate structured its recesses in a
way that was intended, at least initially, to prevent the President from making recess
appointments. The approach involved the use of pro forma sessions, which are short meetings of
the Senate or the House held for the purpose of avoiding a recess of more than three days and
therefore the necessity of obtaining the consent of the other house. Normally, it is understood that
during a pro forma session no business will be conducted.39
On November 16, 2007, the Senate majority leader announced that the Senate would “be coming
in for pro forma sessions during the Thanksgiving holiday to prevent recess appointments.”40 The
Senate recessed later that day and pro forma meetings were convened on November 20, 23, 27,
(...continued)
days must take into the count either the day of adjourning or the day of the meeting, and Sunday is not taken into
account in making this computation” U.S. Congress, House, Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual and Rules of the House
of Representatives of the United States, One Hundred Tenth Congress, 109th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Doc. 109-157
(Washington: GPO, 2007), p. 37. Senate practice appears to be consistent with this approach (Floyd M. Riddick and
Alan S. Frumin, Riddick’s Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practices, 101st Cong., 2nd sess., S.Doc. 101-28,
(Washington: GPO, 1992), pp. 15-16).
37 Modern resolutions also typically include provisions allowing some combination of the elected leaders in each house,
such as the Speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate, acting jointly after consultation with the
minority leaders in each chamber, to reconvene their respective chambers sooner.
38 It appears that some such practice was considered, but not implemented, during the 1980s and 1990s. In response to
certain recess appointments by President William J. Clinton in 1999, one Republican Senator reportedly stated, “What
we can do—if they’re appointments that he should not make—is just not go into recess.... We’ll just go into pro forma.
You’re in session, theoretically, but there’s no votes” (Dave Boyer, “Clinton Warned Against Recess Appointments;
GOP Senators May Not Adjourn,” Washington Times, November 5, 1999, p. A1). In remarks on the Senate floor, the
Senator indicated that a threat of this practice had been part of recess appointment negotiations in 1985 between
Senator Robert C. Byrd and President Ronald W. Reagan: “He [Byrd] extracted from him [Reagan] a commitment in
writing that he would not make recess appointments and, if it should become necessary because of extraordinary
circumstances to make recess appointments, that he would have to give the list to the majority leader ... in sufficient
time in advance that they could prepare for it either by agreeing in advance to the confirmation of that appointment or
by not going into recess and staying in pro forma so the recess appointments could not take place” (Senator James M.
Inhofe, “Recess Appointments,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 145, part 163 (November 17,
1999), p. 29915).
39 Business has sometimes been conducted during pro forma sessions, however. For example, by unanimous consent,
the Senate agreed, on August 2, 2011, that it would “recess and convene for pro forma session only, with no business
conducted” on a number of dates in August and early September, including August 5, 2011 (Sen. Harry Reid, “Orders
for Friday, August 5 through Tuesday, September 6, 2011,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily
edition, vol. 157 (August 2, 2011), p. S5292). On August 5, 2011, the Senate convened as scheduled and, by unanimous
consent, passed the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part IV (Sen. Jim Webb, “Airport and Airway
Extension Act of 2011, Part IV” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 157 (August 5, 2011),
p. S5297). It is established practice in the Senate that an order entered by unanimous consent can be superseded by a
subsequent unanimous consent order.
40 Sen. Harry Reid, “Recess Appointments,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153
(November 16, 2007), p. S14609.
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and 29, with no business conducted. The Senate next conducted business after reconvening on
December 3, 2007. During the remainder of 2007 and 2008, similar procedures were followed
during most other periods that would otherwise have been Senate recesses of a week or longer in
duration, including not only intrasession recesses, but also the period of sine die adjournment at
the end of 2007.41
The Senate pro forma session practice appears to have achieved its stated intent during the final
14 months of the Bush Administration: President Bush made no recess appointments between the
initial pro forma sessions in November 2007 and the end of his presidency.
The Senate did not use the pro forma session practices during or after the first session of the 111th
Congress.42 Toward the end of the second session, however, the Senate structured its 2010 pre-
election break as a series of shorter recesses separated by pro forma sessions. In this case, the use
of the practice reportedly stemmed from a lack of agreement between the Senate majority leader
and the Senate minority leader regarding the disposition of pending nominations over the break.43
President Obama did not make any recess appointments during this period.
The procedures used by the Senate during the 110th and 111th Congresses supplemented the
adjournment procedures typically used by the Senate and the House. In each of the instances
where the pro forma session practice was used during these Congresses, the two chambers also
adopted a concurrent resolution of adjournment. In each case, the schedule of pro forma sessions
was established in the Senate by unanimous consent within the terms provided for in the
concurrent resolution.44
Senate Practices Necessitated by the Absence of House Consent
to Adjourn
During the first few months of the 112th Congress, the House and Senate passed concurrent
resolutions of adjournment prior to periods of absence of more than three days. During this time,
the Senate did not use the pro forma session practice during the resulting recesses.
During the middle of the first session of the 112th Congress, a new related practice appeared to
emerge. On May 25, 2011, in a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, 20 Senators urged
41 For further information on the use of the practice during the Bush Administration, see CRS Report RL33310, Recess
Appointments Made by President George W. Bush, by Henry B. Hogue and Maureen Bearden.
42 When the practice under discussion here was first used, during the 110th Congress, Congress and the White House
were controlled by different parties. During the 111th Congress, when the practice was not used, the two institutions
were controlled by the same party. During the 112th Congress, the Senate and the White House were controlled by one
party, and the House was controlled by the other.
43 Brian Friel, “Senate to Block Recess Appointments,” CQ Today Online News, September 29, 2010, available through
a search at http://www.cq.com/search/news-tab/older-cqtoday?cqtodayPublDate=20120123.
44 For example, H.Con.Res. 259 (110th Congress) provided that, “when the Senate recesses or adjourns on any day from
Thursday, November 15, 2007, through Thursday, November 29, 2007, on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent
resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, it stand recessed or adjourned until noon on Monday, December 3,
2007, or such other time on that day as may be specified by its Majority Leader or his designee in the motion to recess
or adjourn.... ” The series of pro forma sessions established by the Senate prior to its period of absence around this time
concluded with a pro forma session on November 29, 2007, the last date upon which the Senate could adjourn under
the resolution.
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him “to refuse to pass any resolution to allow the Senate to recess or adjourn for more than three
days for the remainder of the president’s term.”45 The letter stated that “President Obama has used
recess appointments to fill powerful positions with individuals whose views are so outside the
mainstream that they cannot be confirmed by the Senate of the United States,” and it referred to
the Senate practices of 2007 as “a successful attempt to thwart President Bush’s recess
appointment powers.” The request of the Senators appears similarly intended to block President
Obama from using the recess appointment power.
In a June 15, 2011, letter to the Speaker of the House, the House majority leader, and the House
majority whip, 78 Representatives requested that “all appropriate measures be taken to prevent
any and all recess appointments by preventing the Senate from officially recessing for the
remainder of the 112th Congress.”46
Between May 12, 2011, and the end of that year, no concurrent resolution of adjournment was
introduced in either chamber. During periods of extended absence, the Senate used pro forma
sessions to avoid recesses of more than three days.47
Appointments During a Three-Day Recess Between Two
Pro Forma Sessions
As previously discussed, on January 4, 2012, during a three-day recess between pro forma
sessions of the Senate on January 3 and January 6, 2012, the White House announced President
Obama’s intent to make four recess appointments. The recess and pro forma sessions had been
provided for as part of the Senate schedule for the period of December 20, 2011, through January
23, 2012, established by unanimous consent on December 17, 2011.48 This schedule, similar to
those agreed to before extended Senate breaks in earlier months, provided for a series of pro
forma sessions with intervening three- and four-day recesses.
Under the requirements of Section 2 of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution as well as
the provisions of the Senate schedule agreed to on December 17, 2011, the second session of the
Senate of the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2012. President Obama’s recess
appointments, announced on January 4, 2012, occurred during the first adjournment following the
beginning of the session and would be considered intrasession recess appointments.
An opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the Department of Justice and decisions of
two federal courts of appeals related to these four recess appointments addressed the
constitutionality of the President’s actions. OLC argued that the recess appointments were
constitutional, 49 while the two appellate courts found the appointments at issue in each case to be
45 U.S. Congress, Senate, Senator David Vitter, “Vitter, DeMint Urge House to Block Controversial Recess
Appointments,” press release, May 25, 2011, available through a search at http://vitter.senate.gov.
46 U.S. Congress, House, Representative Jeff Landry, letter to the Speaker of the House John Boehner, et al., June 15,
2011, available through a search at http://landry.house.gov.
47 The House has also used pro forma sessions during such periods of extended absence.
48 Sen. Ron Wyden, “Orders for Tuesday, December 20, 2011 through Monday, January 23, 2012,” remarks in the
Senate, Congressional Record, vol. 157, part 195 (December 17, 2011), pp. S8783-S8784.
49 “Lawfulness of Recess Appointments during a Recess of the Senate notwithstanding Periodic Pro Forma Sessions,”
Memorandum Opinion for the Counsel to the President, January 6, 2012, available at http://www.justice.gov/olc/2012/
pro-forma-sessions-opinion.pdf.
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unconstitutional. 50 The long term impact of the OLC opinion and the appellate court decisions on
recess appointment practice was not immediately clear.51
Historical Examples of Recess Appointments During Brief
Adjournments Between Sessions
Between the beginning of the Reagan presidency in January 1981 and the end of December 2011,
it appears that the shortest intersession recess during which a President made a recess
appointment was 11 days, and the shortest intrasession recess during which a President made a
recess appointment was 10 days. CRS data on recess appointments before this period, which were
collected from publically available sources, are incomplete. Similarly, CRS data concerning the
historical use of pro forma sessions by the Senate are incomplete.
From the available data, two historical occasions have been identified on which the President has
made recess appointments during recesses of three days or less. In contrast to the January 2012
intrasession recess appointments by President Obama, each of these instances occurred during the
period of transition between sessions.
On one of these occasions, the President made a recess appointment during an intersession recess
of three days or less, when the Senate had adjourned sine die under the terms of a concurrent
resolution. The adjournment began when the Senate adjourned the second session of the 80th
Congress sine die on December 31, 1948, and concluded when the first session of the 81st
Congress was convened on January 3, 1949. On January 1, 1949, during this three-day
adjournment between sessions, official records indicate that President Harry S. Truman recess
appointed Oswald Ryan to be a member of the Civil Aeronautics Board.52 Ryan had been serving
on the board, and President Truman appointed him to a new term. Notably, the adoption of a
concurrent resolution prior to this short intersession recess distinguishes it from the short
intrasession recesses resulting from practices during the 112th Congress, where no concurrent
resolution had been introduced.
On the other of the two occasions, the President made recess appointments during a transition
between sessions of less than a day in length, where no concurrent resolution regarding the
transition between sessions had been adopted. In fact, it appears that little time elapsed between
the sessions on this occasion. When the first session of the 58th Congress ended, at noon on
December 7, 1903, and the second session began soon thereafter, President Theodore Roosevelt
50 Noel Canning and National Labor Relations Board v. New Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation, No. 11-3440, 2013 WL
2099742, at *1 (3d Cir. May 16, 2013). For more on Noel Canning, see CRS Report R43030, The Recess Appointment
Power After Noel Canning v. NLRB: Constitutional Implications, by Todd Garvey and David H. Carpenter. For more
on New Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation, see CRS Report WSLG521, 3rd Circuit: President’s Recess Appointment
Power Only Extends to Intersession Recesses, by David H. Carpenter.
51 For more on the impact of the first appeals court decision, see CRS Report R43032, Practical Implications of Noel
Canning on the NLRB and CFPB, by David H. Carpenter and Todd Garvey.
52 Declaration of Ronald R. Geisler, exhibit 2, page 2, Bowers v. Moffett, Civil Action No. 82-0195 (D.D.C. 1982).
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made over 160 recess appointments—mostly of military officers.53 The Roosevelt Administration
treated the period between these sessions as a “constructive recess.”54
The historical instances cited here indicate that recess appointments have, on occasion, been
attempted during sine die adjournments of three days or fewer. Nevertheless, the instances cited
here each have unique characteristics, and their potential applicability under current practices and
conditions remains open to question. 55
Obama Recess Appointment Data
The individual Obama recess appointments are shown in Table 3. The table provides, for each
appointment, the name of the appointee, the position to which he or she was appointed, and the
date on which the appointment was announced. Entries in bold are recess appointments that were
made during a recess within a session of Congress (intrasession recess appointments). All other
entries are recess appointments that were made during a recess between Congresses or between
sessions of Congress (intersession recess appointments).
Table 3. Recess Appointments by President Barack Obama,
January 20, 2009–June 3, 2013
(Intrasession appointments bolded)
Date
Appointee Position
Agency
announced
Jeffrey A. Goldstein
Under Secretary for Domestic
Department of the
03/27/10
Finance
Treasury
Michael F. Mundaca
Assistant Secretary for Tax
Department of the
03/27/10
Policy
Treasury
Eric L. Hirschhorn
Under Secretary for Export
Department of
03/27/10
Administration
Commerce
Michael W. Punke
Deputy U.S. Trade
Office of the U.S. Trade
03/27/10
Representative - Geneva
Representative
Francisco J. Sánchez
Under Secretary for
Department of
03/27/10
International Trade
Commerce
Islam A. Siddiqui
Chief Agricultural Negotiator
Office of the U.S. Trade
03/27/10
Representative
Alan D. Bersin
Commissioner of U.S. Customs
Department of Homeland
03/27/10
and Border Protection
Security
53 The first session of the 58th Congress was an “extraordinary,” session convened at the call of the President. See CRS
CD Memorandum for more detail.
54 See letter from Secretary of War Elihu Root to Senator Redfield Proctor, Acting Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Military Affairs, printed at “Recess Appointments,” Congressional Record, vol. 38 (February 4, 1904), p. 1604.
55 For more on these historical instances and their potential applicability under current practices and conditions, see
CRS CD Memorandum.
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Date
Appointee Position
Agency
announced
Jill L. Thompson
Member
Farm Credit
03/27/10
Administration
Rafael Borras
Under Secretary for
Department of Homeland
03/27/10
Management
Security
Craig Becker
Member
National Labor Relations
03/27/10
Board
Mark G. Pearce
Member
National Labor Relations
03/27/10
Board
Jacqueline A. Berrien Member (designated chair)
Equal Employment
03/27/10
Opportunity Commission
Chai R. Feldblum
Member
Equal Employment
03/27/10
Opportunity Commission
Victoria A. Lipnic
Member
Equal Employment
03/27/10
Opportunity Commission
P. David Lopez
General Counsel
Equal Employment
03/27/10
Opportunity Commission
Donald M. Berwick
Administrator of the Centers for
Department of Health
07/07/10
Medicare and Medicaid Services
and Human Services
Philip E. Coyle III
Associate Director for National
Office of Science and
07/07/10
Security and International Affairs
Technology Policy
Joshua Gotbaum
Director
Pension Benefit Guaranty
07/07/10
Corporation
Mari Carmen
Chief of Mission, El Salvador
Department of State
08/19/10
Aponte
Elisabeth A. Hagen
Under Secretary for Food Safety
Department of
08/19/10
Agriculture
Winslow L. Sargeant
Chief Counsel for Advocacy
Small Business
08/19/10
Administration
Richard Sorian
Assistant Secretary for Public
Department of Health
08/19/10
Affairs
and Human Services
James M. Cole
Deputy Attorney General
Department of Justice
12/29/10
Wil iam J. Boarman
Public Printer
Government Printing Office
12/29/10
Robert S. Ford
Chief of Mission, Syrian Arab Republic
Department of State
12/29/10
Francis J. Ricciardone Jr.
Chief of Mission, Turkey
Department of State
12/29/10
Matthew J. Bryza
Chief of Mission, Azerbaijan
Department of State
12/29/10
Norman L. Eisen
Chief of Mission, Czech Republic
Department of State
12/29/10
Richard Cordray
Director
Bureau of Consumer
01/04/12
Financial Protection
Sharon Block
Member
National Labor Relations
01/04/12
Board
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Date
Appointee Position
Agency
announced
Terence F. Flynn
Member
National Labor Relations
01/04/12
Board
Richard Griffin Jr.
Member
National Labor Relations
01/04/12
Board
Sources: Table created by CRS using data from the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, available at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/col ection.action?col ectionCode=CPD; the Senate nominations database of the
Legislative Information System, available to the congressional community at http://www.congress.gov/nomis/; and
news releases from the Obama Administration White House website, at http://www.whitehouse.gov.
Notes: Entries in bold are recess appointments that were made during recesses within a session of Congress
(intrasession recess appointments). All other entries are recess appointments that were made during a recess
between Congresses or between sessions of Congress (intersession recess appointments).
Author Contact Information
Henry B. Hogue
Maureen Bearden
Specialist in American National
Information Research Specialist
Government
mbearden@crs.loc.gov, 7-8955
hhogue@crs.loc.gov, 7-0642
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