Earlier this year senate majority leader Reid reworked the senate schedule so that there are no extended breaks, ostensibly to prevent Bush from making recess appointments and thus avoiding the vetting of his job candidates by the senate. Now there are reports that Bush is planning to make several recess appointments soon.
What gives?
Earlier this year, even before the US Attorney scandal was getting much attention, there was worry that Bush would try to avoid senate confirmation of his appointments by using recess appointments. Recess appointments are in the constitution for a good reason: before trains, planes, and automobiles, getting the senate in session to confirm an emergency appointment could take weeks. If they could be bothered to show up, that is.
Now recess appointments are principally a way for presidents to avoid the senate's vetting process. Our senate majority leader made clear that he doesn't want shenanigans pulled, and overhauled the schedule of the senate so that there are no long breaks until August.
(the next two points are lifted from mspicata's January diary, which gives you a proper background for this story, something you won't find here)
-Unfortunately, there's no rule on how short a break has to be to be considered a recess; Teddy Roosevelt used a one day break to make recess appointments.
-Reid has the ability to block this tactic by calling pro forma sessions, in which the senate is technically in session practically continually, though almost no one is there for three or more days at a time.
So if Reid has revamped the schedule and has the option to resurrect the pro-forma tactic,
why is this an issue again?
Raw Story refers to the WSJ, plus another story in the
LA Times which talk about Bush planning to make three pro-business hires at the EPA via recess appointments.
So there's a disconnect here. Is Reid not following through? Are the papers clueless and being fed a line? Or does Bush unitary executive theory now include declarations of when the senate is or isn't in recess?
UPDATE
AS you can see from calipygian's diary above, the recess appointments have started. I guess Reid decided not to pull the pro-forma switch.