On the topic of recess appointments...

Since that's become the topic of the day, I thought it would be interesting to point out some past recess appointments.

First what the constitution states:

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.

Granted we all know this was done because during our founding fathers time period Congress was not in session the way it is today, but since there was no time frame clarification Presidents have used this as a way to get in a candidate that otherwise might not have been confirmed.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson used the recess appointment authority to appoint over thirty federal judges early in history.

President Theodore Roosevelt made several recess apppointments during a one-day recess of the Senate.

William J. Brennan was appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 through a recess appointment.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy used the recess appointment to the federal bench for Thurgood Marshall, who would later become the first black Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court (1967).

Ronald Reagan made 243 recess appointments during his two terms in office.

George H. W. Bush made 77 recess appointments during his presidency.

Bill Clinton used a recess appointment to name James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg and Bill Lan Lee as assistant attorney general. Clinton made a total of 140 recess appointments over two terms.

George W. Bush used recess appointment to place Charles Pickering to the U.S. Court of Appeals (January 2004). As of July 31, 2005, Bush has made 105 recess appointments.

So there's some historical perspective.

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