The Forgotten Power of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause

The Appointments Clause in the Constitution secures accountability and checks government power. It’s time to restore this important safeguard.

The Appointments Clause is not just a formality in the Constitution; it’s a key to protecting the balance of power and securing the people's influence over government actions. With every federal official appointed, we should be asking: Who picked this person? Why do they have this power? Are they accountable to us? The Founders weren’t messing around when they wrote the Appointments Clause into Article II. They designed it to make sure government officials answer to the people, not just their political patrons. But is it working right now?

Let’s dig into the meat of the Appointments Clause and break down why it’s so vital to restoring accountability in government.

First off, let’s look at what the Appointments Clause actually says. You’ll find it in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution. Here’s the short version: the president has the power to appoint officers of the United States with the “advice and consent” of the Senate. This power extends to ambassadors, judges, and “all other officers of the United States.”

But there’s a catch: Congress has the right to grant the president (or other heads of departments) the authority to appoint “inferior officers” without Senate approval. Think about that—right there, we’ve got the basis for presidential power, Senate oversight, and a limited role for Congress in structuring appointments. It’s all about dividing power so that no one person or branch can act without some form of check.

The Founders put this system in place because they knew that without it, federal appointments could easily turn into a game of cronyism, corruption, and unchecked authority. Sound familiar?

You might wonder: Why did the Founders even bother with “advice and consent”? Couldn’t they just trust the president to pick the best people for the job? LOL, not a chance. The Founders knew all too well that human nature includes ambition and self-interest, which unchecked could lead to disastrous appointments.

The “advice and consent” process is supposed to serve two functions. First, it ensures that nominees undergo scrutiny and that they represent more than just the president’s will. The Senate, by weighing in on these appointments, acts as a filter to weed out unqualified or overly biased nominees. Second, this process is supposed forces nominees to meet a basic threshold of competence and accountability.

Yet today, we see the Senate confirmation process often reduced to partisan rubber-stamping or obstructive games. Nominees with clear conflicts of interest, little experience, or questionable loyalties often skate through. If the Senate’s not doing its job of checking nominees, then we lose a critical accountability mechanism.  Consider the case of the latest supreme court justice, why is that justice on the bench with a lifetime appointment?  Think about that for a minute…

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Congress has the power to allow certain “inferior officers” to be appointed without Senate consent. Initially, the Founders saw this as a practical measure—every single hire couldn’t possibly go through a Senate vote. But today, this loophole has become a major way to expand executive power without checks.

These “inferior” officers have become, in many cases, highly influential positions. Regulatory officials, agency directors, and other bureaucrats wield massive power that impacts our daily lives, from environmental regulations to economic policy. Yet they’re appointed without Senate oversight, and they can be exceptionally tough to hold accountable. So we end up with a government packed with officials who can make and enforce rules without anyone holding them directly responsible.

In recent decades, the executive branch has taken another shortcut around Senate confirmation by installing “acting” officials in key roles. The Founders would’ve balked at this development, as it bypasses the entire “advice and consent” framework. With acting officials, presidents have filled high-level roles with people who don’t go through Senate scrutiny at all. Even though these “temporary” appointments are supposed to be short-lived, in reality, many of these acting officials stay in power for months or even years and have made many, major decisions that impact millions of people.

This trend raises serious questions about legitimacy and accountability. When officials are appointed without any Senate approval, they lack a direct line of accountability to the people. We’re left with a government where officials act with unchecked authority, making decisions that affect us all without any oversight. (Yes I repeated myself, but I think that’s because this is such an issue in government these days.)

Restoring the true spirit of the Appointments Clause would give us back some of the accountability that has slipped through the cracks over the years. Imagine if every major federal official had to be rigorously vetted by the Senate, just as the Founders intended. Imagine if we ended the practice of filling top roles with “acting” officials who don’t answer to Congress or, by extension, to us. A quick aside; I strongly support the idea of “Term Limits” for all for federal bureaucrats as suggested by the Convention of States Action movement? This alone would alleviate 99% of this problem.

Remember that this isn’t just about reducing executive power; it’s about strengthening the entire system of checks and balances that defines American government. For too long, we’ve let temporary appointees and unchecked bureaucrats call the shots without public accountability. Restoring the Appointments Clause as the Founders intended would mean returning power to where it belongs—with the people.

It’s time to demand that our leaders restore the Appointments Clause as a safeguard against unchecked government power. Stand up for a government that answers to you—where every appointment counts.

Just Sayin…

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