# Congress is in recess for a year and a half? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167 "2005-08-01T17:04:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/1 "2005-08-01T17:04:05Z")
I was reading about John Bolton’s appointment as a recess appointment to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. From what I understood (and maybe my initial understanding is wrong) is that a recess appointment is used by the president to appoint someone to a post while Congress is in recess and cannot vote to confirm/not confirm the appointment. At the same time, that appointment is only temporary until Congress re-convenes and has the opportunity to vote on the appointment. However, a paragraph of the article I read stated: > [@](#): > > Under the Constitution, a recess appointment during the lawmakers’ August break would last until a newly elected Congress takes office in January 2007. Does that mean that Congress is out for the next year and a half? Or am I misunderstanding something? Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/2 "2005-08-01T17:07:56Z")
. . . but it’s not what you think. The appointment stands until the \*\*next \*\* Congress is seated - the one that’ll be elected in 2006. When \*this \* congress returns from recess, they’ll be looking at a fait accompli. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/3 "2005-08-01T17:12:30Z")
The Constitution says: “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 the next session.” We’re in the middle of a session of Congress now, and this session started in January of 2005, and ends in January of 2006. The next session starts in January of 2006 (when the newly elected congressmen and senators are sworn in) and ends in January of 2007. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/4 "2005-08-01T17:14:05Z")
Ah, OK. A simple misunderstanding on my part. Thanks for the info. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/5 "2005-08-01T17:15:40Z")
Here’s a Federalist Society report on recess appointments (of judges, only, but the rules would apply to all recess appointments). It’s in PDF format. [http://www.fed-soc.org/pdf/recapp.pdf#search=‘recess%20appointments’](http://www.fed-soc.org/pdf/recapp.pdf#search='recess%20appointments') ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/6 "2005-08-01T19:53:45Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > We’re in the middle of a session of Congress now, and this session started in January of 2005, and ends in January of 2006. The next session starts in January of 2006 (when the newly elected congressmen and senators are sworn in) and ends in January of 2007. Unless there happens to be a by-election, nobody will be sworn in in January 2006. Nevertheless, it’s true that a new session of Congress begins each January. Each Congress consists of two annual sessions, as an outgrowth of the Constitutional requirement that Congress meet at least once each year. Technically, the sessions end not during the following January, but when Congress adjourns _sine die_ at the end of the year. [This article](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:MBP7E3DcRREJ:www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RS21308.pdf+%22recess+appointment%22+Pickering+expired&hl=en&start=1) explains more. So a recess appointment made today will expire on some yet-to-be-determined date in late 2006. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/7 "2005-08-01T19:57:31Z")
So theoretically Bush could appoint someone to the Supreme Court on a recess apointment, couldn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/8 "2005-08-01T20:04:24Z")
Yes, it has been done; see the report linked by **Captain Amazing**. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/9 "2005-08-01T23:49:10Z")
Follow-up question: I would have thought from the wording of the constitutional provision that the power can only be used to fill vacancies which come open while the Senate is in recess: “to fill up all Vacancies that **may happen during the Recess** of the Senate…” That makes it sound like the power exists because a vacancy may come up while the Senate’s not in session, when it’s not possible to get Senate confirmation, so the Prez has the power to fill the position temporarily to ensure that public affairs don’t get delayed until the Senate comes back. But that’s not what happened here, is it? the position was vacant while the Senate was in session; it didn’t “happen during the Recess.” The Prez just couldn’t get the appointment confirmed, so he waited until the Senate is not in session to fill it. There wasn’t any urgency. Has there ever been any court case interpreting this clause? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/10 "2005-08-02T00:37:56Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > So theoretically Bush could appoint someone to the Supreme Court on a recess apointment, couldn’t he? I think the last time that happened was when Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshal. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/11 "2005-08-02T00:56:31Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I think the last time that happened was when Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshal. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. It was LBJ who appointed him to the SC. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/12 "2005-08-02T13:46:50Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > But that’s not what happened here, is it? the position was vacant while the Senate was in session; it didn’t “happen during the Recess.” . . . Has there ever been any court case interpreting this clause? Yes, there have been two appellate court cases which the Supreme Court declined to review; see the Federalist Society report. (I can’t quote from it because it’s PDF.) > [@Otto](#): > > Kennedy appointed Marshall to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. It was LBJ who appointed him to the SC. And indeed, it was Marshall’s appelate court appointment that was originally a recess appointment, not his SCOTUS appointment. The last SCOTUS recess appointee was Potter Stewart in 1958. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/13 "2005-08-02T13:49:18Z")
Yeah, I seem to recall Ike did three of those. Busy man with those recess appointments. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-is-in-recess-for-a-year-and-a-half/315167/14 "2005-08-02T14:09:36Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > Vacancies that **may happen during the Recess** of the Senate…" Good point, but the practice is a pretty longstanding affair, so I think the clause has got a “correct” interpretation today, even if it isn’t grammatically correct or even, necessarily, what the framers meant when they wrote it. –Cliffy