What are federal officials called?

The Constitution empowers the president to appoint ambassadors, judges, and “other officers of the United States,” subject to the “consent and consent of the Senate.” Today, more than 1,000 senior positions in the federal government require Senate confirmation, making the appointment and confirmation process a frequent source of tension between the executive and legislative branches, especially during periods of divided government.

Senators have sometimes slowed down the confirmation process to extract concessions from the White House, sometimes on issues unrelated to filling the vacancy. But the framers of the Constitution saw the division of authority between presidential nominations and Senate confirmations as a way to promote good government through more qualified officials.

What are break schedules?

The Senate was not designed to be permanently in session, and the vagaries of 18th-century communications and transportation meant that weeks passed before lawmakers could be brought together again for an emergency. To keep the government staffed, the Constitution says the president can fill vacancies while the Senate is in recess, but those commissions expire at the end of the next session of Congress. That means a recess appointee cannot hold a term for more than two years, the length of one session of Congress.

How were break schedules used?

In practice, impatient presidents have sometimes used the recess appointment power to bypass an intransigent Senate. The most ambitious episode may have come on December 7, 1903, when the second session of the 58th Congress was scheduled to begin immediately after the first session expired. President Theodore Roosevelt took advantage of that split second to make 193 recess appointments.

More recently, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush each made more than 150 recess appointments during their two-term presidencies. Barack Obama used the power less frequently, but his effort to appoint four members of the National Labor Relations Board during recess prompted the Supreme Court to limit the practice.

The court in 2014 unanimously held that Obama overstepped his authority. Five justices, citing centuries of historical practice, found that the president could make such temporary appointments when the Senate is in recess for at least 10 days. The four most conservative justices, three of whom remain on the court, would have gone even further. Justice Antonin Scalia said the recess appointment power is outdated. “The need it was designed to fill no longer exists, and its only remaining use is the ignoble one of allowing the President to bypass the Senate’s role in the appointment process,” he wrote.

As a practical matter, however, the decision made it simple for the Senate to prevent recess appointments by convening pro-forma sessions during de facto 10-day recesses.

If Republicans are going to control the Senate, what does Trump gain by bypassing them?

Nominees can be confirmed by a simple majority vote in the Senate, but the confirmation process can be painful. If Republicans allow Trump to install officials without the advice and consent of the Senate, in theory, the president-elect could build his slate of top officials faster. It would also limit public scrutiny and deny Democratic senators the chance to question Trump’s nominees, as nominees are typically required to submit background materials and testify before Senate committees. Eliminating a confirmation vote eliminates the risk of a handful of Senate defectors sinking a highly controversial nominee.

What have GOP senators said so far?

Republicans vying to become Senate majority leader have issued statements opening the door to the idea that the Senate should adjourn long enough to allow Trump to appoint at least some officials without Senate approval. “I agree 100 percent,” Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a favorite of Trump allies, said in a social media post. “I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations as quickly as possible.”

Are there other ways to temporarily fill high-level government positions?

The Vacancies Act specifies how many federal jobs should be filled when a Senate-confirmed nominee is not available. Usually, the first assistant to the vacancy becomes the acting official, or the president may designate another Senate-confirmed official or a federal officer of similar rank to serve as acting incumbent. Boards and commissions cannot be filled by the Vacancies Act, however, and some statutes specify the chain of succession in certain agencies.

In status-conscious Washington, recess appointees are treated as if confirmed by the Senate, which conveys prestige and a degree of deference. In previous administrations, incumbents have tended to behave with more circumspection than Senate-confirmed appointees.

This explanatory article may be updated periodically.

Email Jess Bravin at [email protected]