Posted on 12/29/2010 2:44:00 PM PST by jazusamo
President Obama used a recess appointment Wednesday to name James Cole as deputy attorney general.
The president also recess appointed five other officials, including four ambassadors.
Cole's nomination to the second-ranking post at the Department of Justice had been held up over objections from Republicans, who raised concerns over his tenure as an independent monitor of insurance giant AIG between 2005 and 2009. The federal government bailed out the company in 2008.
Republican senators also quibbled with a 2002 report that Cole wrote advocating civilian trials for terror suspects. Republicans have objected to trials in civilian courts for any of the detainees held in Guantanamo Bay as well as others accused of acts of terror.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attempted to confirm Cole by unanimous consent during the lame-duck session, by GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) objected.
While the recess appointment allows Obama to fill a key spot at the Department of Justice, Cole will have to be renominated and confirmed by the end of the next session of Congress. That could be tougher given the larger GOP minority in the next Senate.
Cole is a partner at the firm Bryan Cave LLP and previously served as a Justice Department official between 1979 and 1992. He worked on former President Bill Clinton's transition team in 1992.
Obama also appointed Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics adviser, as the U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Eisen co-founded the non-profit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and worked on the Obama transition team.
The president also appointed the public printer of the United States and ambassadors to Syria, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Does anybody have a running tally on the number of recess appts each president has made?
The list, ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
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.I guess "end of their next session" is interpreted as being the session FOLLOWING their current one, but I was certain that a recess appointment made in the summer would end on January 3rd.
Of course, I think it's pretty clear that the recess appointment clause only allows appointments for openings which OCCUR during recess. I don't know why the supreme court ever allowed recess appointments for vacancies where the senate simply refused to act.
Awesome info. Thanks.
I’m confused...
How does Clinton (2-terms) have less total recess appointments than either G.W. Bush (2-terms) or Reagan (2-terms), but then come out ahead of them in the appointments measured by ratio of days on office/appt?
I agree, the recess appointment process wasn’t intended to be used the way it has been in later years.
A hold was put on James Cole because of the corrupt Obama/Holder Justice Department and their failing to enforce laws, of course that wasn’t mentioned in this piece.
thnx, what a failure odumbo is
Justa! Thanks for posting that info. Good to “see” you. :-)
Because the ration of days/appointment is a misleading indicator — the smaller number means more appointments, as the number is how many days pass between each appointment.
Also, Obama’s days/appointment number is way off, since he’s been in office just about 24 months and has 15 appointments, that’s about 40+ days/appointment.
Obama shouldn’t have needed any recess appointments — he had a 60-vote majority in the senate, and even when he didn’t, he had a block of 4-7 republicans who really abhored the idea of blocking presidential appointments.
The reason he had to do any is because these 15 were so bad that Harry Reid wouldn’t even let them come to the floor for a cloture vote, because then there would have been public debate on them and it would have embarrased the democrats.
I'll try and find more info.
Will be good to hear from you but take your time, I’ll be here. ;-)
Probably another card carrier.
This article basically says the same thing.
Obama Outpaces Bush’s Recess Appointments
07/12/2010
Tanks! ;*)
is that from “THE” Ann Dunham picture ?
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