# Could Our Next Supreme Ct. Appointment Be a 'Recess Appointment' (Under W. Bush)?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-our-next-supreme-ct-appointment-be-a-recess-appointment-under-w-bush/237679>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [April 1, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-our-next-supreme-ct-appointment-be-a-recess-appointment-under-w-bush/237679 "2004-04-01T06:09:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-our-next-supreme-ct-appointment-be-a-recess-appointment-under-w-bush/237679/1 "2004-04-01T06:09:42Z")

</div>

I know when Clinton tried to make a recess appointment (I forget if it was judicial or not), the Republican Congress almost had a heart attack and Clinton immediately apologized. Now to avoid Democrat filibusters, George W. Bush is apparently resorting to the rarely used _“recess appointment”_ strategy, thus bypassing the Senate’s _Consent and Advice_ (compare [this](http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=6164&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported) and [this](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108685,00.html)).

Anyways, no one seems to be stopping him, successfully at least. But my question is this: **Would Bush dare use this strategy for the next Supreme Court nominee (if he gets to make it)?** In theory, it would just be another appointment, and this strategy would apply the same way. But would Bush dare to do such a thing? And if he would, would the Democratic (or Republican for that matter) Senators allow it?

🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-our-next-supreme-ct-appointment-be-a-recess-appointment-under-w-bush/237679/2 "2004-04-01T06:29:02Z")

</div>

> [@Jim B.](#):
>
> I know when Clinton tried to make a recess appointment (I forget if it was judicial or not), the Republican Congress almost had a heart attack and Clinton immediately apologized. Now to avoid Democrat filibusters, George W. Bush is apparently resorting to the rarely used _“recess appointment”_ strategy, thus bypassing the Senate’s _Consent and Advice_ (compare [this](http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=6164&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported) and [this](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108685,00.html)).
> 
> Anyways, no one seems to be stopping him, successfully at least. But my question is this: **Would Bush dare use this strategy for the next Supreme Court nominee (if he gets to make it)?** In theory, it would just be another appointment, and this strategy would apply the same way. But would Bush dare to do such a thing? And if he would, would the Democratic (or Republican for that matter) Senators allow it?
> 
> 🙂

I don’t think so… in fact, I’m nearly certain of it. See, it’s easy to recess appoint people to a circuit court of appeals because no average person cares or really should care about a circuit court of appeals. But people know what the Supreme Court is, and in general they have a lot of respect for it, more than any other branch of government. I imagine that if Bush tried to recess appoint someone to the Surpreme Court, the reaction would be similar to when FDR tried packing the court during the New Deal; even many of FDRs supporters thought the idea was a ridiculous abuse of power.

While the Supreme Court has obviously become more political in recent years, turning it into a political plaything, with a series of justices being appointed and then having to step down a year later, would not sit well at all with the public