Suppose Bush offers just political hacks for the AG position, and the Senate rejects them all. In desperation, could he reinstate Gonzales and insist that by law, a confirmation hearing is unnecessary because the Senate already approved him previously?
Too inane to consider?
Well, the Senate wants a person who has full respect for the rule of law over politics. If Bush ends up with an AG who fits that bill, he is faced with the prospect of endless prosecutions to current and past members of his administration, including Cheney and perhaps even himself.
How can W put forth an honest and dedicated man for the job?
The only way this might happen is if Gonzales withdraws his resignation before he leaves office on September 17. In that instance, he would never have left his office as Attorney General. Once his resignation is effective, he’ll have to be reconfirmed by the Senate.
For instance, Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense in the Ford administration, but had to be reconfirmed by the Senate when he was appointed to the post by President Bush.
I think the president could definitely insist that. I know I’m naive and uninformed on the subject, but after reading the news for the past eight years I get the impression that the executive branch can insist many things of disputed or questionable legality, and it’s the job of Congress or the Supreme Court to challenge those assertions. For example, the vice-president’s statement that laws applying to the executive branch don’t apply to the office of the vice-president.
Another vote for “Too inane to consider.” If it were politically possible for Gonzales’ name to be put up again, he never would have resigned in the first place.
Bush’s other option would be to let the office fall vacant (though an Acting AG would take charge) and wait until the Senate adjourns for Christmas break. Then he could use a recess appointment that would keep Gonzales in office until Jan 2nd 2009.
Reid says he keeps Senators on hand during breaks to prevent just this crap. Otherwise he could have snuck in a new AG this very month - when the senate was on vacation.
The part in boldface was what I referred to. Later, Reid and Bush reached a
quiet accord on no recess appts. http://www.politics1.com/blog-0807.htm
CONGRESS: Roll Call reports that US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and President Bush reached a quiet deal to avert a heated fight over the President’s history of making recess appointments of controversial people to key federal positions. A recess appointee can serve until the next Congress convenes – often a year or more later – before requiring a confirmation vote to continue. Reid had previously announced he would keep the Senate operating by convening pro forma sessions every few days so as to legally block Bush from making the recess appointments. To avoid the public fight, Reid agreed to allow the Senate summer recess to go forward without the frequent interruptions and President Bush agreed he would make no recess appointments during the break. Former United National Ambassador John Bolton was the most controversial of these recent recess picks.
