Recess appointment

A recess appointment is an appointment made by the President of the United States to fill a vacancy in a federal office when the U.S. Senate is in recess, without the Senate's advice and consent. Under the U.S. Constitution's Recess Appointments Clause (Article II, Section 2, Clause 3, see text below), a recess appointment expires at the end of the Senate's next session unless the appointee is confirmed by the Senate.

The recess appointment power was intended to ensure the continuity of government when the Senate was unavailable for extended periods, but has become increasingly controversial in modern practice as the Senate has remained in near-continuous session and used pro forma sessions to prevent recess appointments. The practice has been used by presidents since George Washington, including for judicial appointments, and has been the subject of recurring constitutional and political disputes.

In NLRB v. Noel Canning (2014), the Supreme Court held that pro forma sessions are sufficient to prevent recess appointments and that the president may make recess appointments during both intersession and sufficiently long intrasession recesses.

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